Mum of baby burnt in hot coffee attack in Brisbane park speaks of ‘quick and chaotic’ moment
A baby badly burnt when he was doused in hot coffee at a Brisbane park had taken his first unassisted steps just hours before the attack, his mother has revealed.
The nine-month-old boy was “playing with a little toy car on the picnic rug” at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner on Tuesday afternoon when an unknown man poured the scalding Thermos of coffee on him and ran away.
The young Brisbane mum and her son had gone to the park for a midday picnic with a friend and her baby when the incident occurred.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It was all very quick and chaotic,” she said on Thursday.
“I didn’t really understand what was happening at the time, but I started screaming for help, yelling out that it was hot and my son was burnt.
“He started screaming and yelling. I poured our drink bottle of water on him ... ripping his clothes off.
“I just wanted to comfort my son in that moment.”
The mother said her friend ran after the man but he got away.
Other people in the park came to the boy’s aid, also pouring water on him, while an off-duty nurse who lived next to the park opened her home to the injured baby and mother to give him a cool shower until paramedics arrived.
He underwent surgery for burns to his face and chest and is recovering in Queensland Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.
The woman, who cannot be identified, revealed her son had begun walking again on Thursday having taken “his first unassisted steps the morning of this incident”.
“He seems like his happy self again, which is nice to see because the last few days have been really, really hard,” she said.
“He’s doing good. He’s actually playing.”
The man who allegedly attacked the child is yet to be found despite multiple police appeals for information on his whereabouts.
Police say he was wearing glasses, a shirt, shorts and a black hat and is believed to be aged between 30 and 40 with a proportionate build and tanned skin.
The young mum, who says the attacker “didn’t say a word” to her, said she “hopes he comes forward”.
“I just hope someone in the community knows who he is,” she said.
“Last night, I had a panic attack, thinking that he’s going to hurt someone else.
“If he did this to an innocent baby, he can do a lot worse.
“I don’t want any more harm to anyone.”
