Brisbane detectives have released an image of a man suspected of involvement in pouring hot coffee onto a nine-month-old baby during an “ambush” at a picnic.
The parents of the nine-month-old baby were enjoying an outing with friends at Hanlon Park in Brisbane’s Stones Corner on Aug. 27 when an unknown man approached them and poured a thermos of hot coffee onto the baby boy.
A nearby nurse heard the baby’s screams and ran over to help as his mother screamed, “It’s hot, it’s hot coffee.”
The mother’s friend described how she tried to run after the attacker but tripped before returning to help.
She described the harrowing scene as the extent of the damage to the baby’s skin was revealed.
“We laid him down on the picnic rug and we peeled his clothes away, which revealed the peeling of his skin—his skin had started to blister,” the friend said.
The baby had to undergo surgery and remains in hospital in a stable condition.
“This man needs to be found and charged,” the baby’s mother, who has not been publicly identified, told the Nine Network.
“I don’t know who would think that’s okay to harm an innocent little baby,” she said.
The baby’s mother said she had been having flashbacks since the incident.
“It’s torture. I am supposed to be his protector and I couldn’t protect him,” she said.
The baby will spend the next week in hospital and will undergo further surgery.
Police have released two images of a man aged between 30 and 40 years old, with proportionate build, and tanned skin.
He wore a black hat, glasses, a blue shirt and shorts.
“I believe that we’re progressing the investigation well, I’m confident that we will have a positive outcome, however we’re still appealing to the public to have a good look at some of that CCTV footage,” said Detective Inspector Paul Dalton, in an interview with ABC News Breakfast.
The officer described how the mother was targeted from behind.
“It was totally surprising, almost like an ambush,” he said. “Rest assured we’re doing everything we possibly can to find this person.”
The detective inspector said he had not seen an act so brazen and callous in 30 years of policing, with the baby receiving “quite significant burns.”
