Officials: 2 children injured after acid is poured onto Longmeadow playground

LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Longmeadow Police are investigating an incident from over the weekend that left at least two children injured at the Bliss Park playground.

Longmeadow Fire and Police Departments responded to several calls Sunday morning about a ‘suspicious substance’ on the playground. They later learned it was a hazardous chemical that left at least two children with burn-like injuries.

“It’s scary that they would do something like that without thinking about the consequences,” said Kristin Cerasa of Springfield.

“How could anyone do that when the only people they’re going to hurt are little kids?” added Debora Lorenzo of Agawam.

Officials have identified the hazardous chemical as muriatic acid, a commonly used chemical to clean bacteria from pools. They said that it was poured onto three slides at the playground.

At least two children received burns, which prompted an investigation by the Longmeadow Fire Department, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, the District Attorney’s Office, and other state agencies.

Longmeadow Police Captain Carl Mazzaferro told Western Mass News that when they started their investigation, police noticed what appeared to be a break-in to the pump room at the pool directly behind the playground, where whoever broke in got a hold of the chemicals.

“They were able to scale a couple of fences, then they gained access into the door into the chemical area,” Captain Mazzaferro said.

He told us that the perpetrators got their hands on the hazardous chemical. Additional evidence was gathered at the scene and was sent to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab for forensic analysis and fingerprinting, according to the Longmeadow Fire Department in a press release.

This is not the first time this pool house has had chemical concerns. In 2018, a different acidic substance spilled, but was contained to the pool building and no injuries were reported.

Captain Mazzaferro told us that there are plans to heighten security around the pool until further action is taken.

“The Longmeadow Police Department will be having extra patrols, and we’ve had extra patrols since this incident at the Bliss Park pool and the pool house area,” he said.

The playground has been cleaned but will remain closed for the rest of the week out of an abundance of caution. The rest of the park is still open.