A teenager in Florida has been accused of intentionally setting his friend on fire when they were on Kauffman Island at Lake Kerr on January 11.
Officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said video footage of the incident shows what happened that night that ended up with 17-year-old Bradey Ming being charged with felony aggravated battery, Fox 35 reported Wednesday.
Deputies said the clip showed Ming pouring gasoline on another young person at the scene which caused him to catch on fire. The boy who suffered burns initially told his parent he tried to throw a water bottle with gasoline into a fire, but his father located the video footage of the incident showing he had been lit on fire.
The clip showed several young men around a large campfire. One of them was seen carrying a large container.
At one point, someone was heard saying, “Do you want to be on fire?”
The teen with the container then appeared to throw gasoline on the fire and pour a trail onto another young man at the scene who immediately got up from his seat.
He body was lit on fire and those at the scene yelled at him to get into the lake. The teen who had been on fire appeared to stand up and walk out of the water moments later:
Authorities said the teen who was hurt suffered burns on his hand, backside, legs, and thighs with some of the injuries being described as second and third-degree burns, according to WCJB.
A third-degree burn is also known as a full-thickness burn, per the Mayo Clinic’s website.
“This burn involves all of the layers of skin and sometimes the fat and muscle tissue under the skin. Burned areas may be black, brown, or white. The skin may look leathery. Third-degree burns can destroy nerves, so there may be little or no pain,” the site read.
Following the incident, the group left the island and the young man who was burned was eventually transferred from a local hospital to UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital for care.
The teen was reportedly drinking alcohol when the incident happened. In addition, a witness told investigators no one was arguing and there were no signs indicating Ming poured the liquid on him maliciously, according to the Fox article.
“Based on the video and information from the investigation, the investigator said a reasonable person can conclude that the gasoline would cause great bodily injury,” the outlet added.
Following his arrest, Ming turned himself in and was booked into the Marion County Juvenile Justice Center. Authorities are holding him without bond.