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A Georgia woman is recovering from severe burns after someone poured a corrosive chemical on her head while she was walking in a public park in Savannah, the victim’s son and a close friend said Friday.
Savannah police confirmed they are searching for a suspect in the chemical attack in Forsyth Park, one of the city’s historic green spaces that attracts runners, picnickers, children playing and sightseeing tourists. Police Said that it appears that the woman has been attacked by a stranger.
The victim, 46-year-old Ashley Wasilewski, was being treated for second- and third-degree burns at the burn center. AugustaHis son, Westley Wasilewski, told the Associated Press. He said the injuries covered almost half of his body, including his head, face, hands and legs.
“We don’t know who did this,” he said. “She has no enemies. She is everyone’s friend.”
Westley Wasilewski said his mother was walking in the park Wednesday night after attending a Christmas program at a nearby church. She learned about the attack from a call from a bystander who came to her mother’s aid. He said he could hear her screams of pain over the phone.
From her hospital bed, Ashley Wasilewski told family and friends that she was walking on the sidewalk along the perimeter of the park when she saw the shadow of someone approaching from behind. She was turning to face the man when he poured some of the liquid on her head, said Connor Milam, a close friend.
“She immediately said, ‘Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then his skin started burning,” said Milam, who was in the burn unit with her friend. “He looked down and his pants were starting to burn off his body. She started screaming.”
Savannah police spokesman Neil Pentilla said Friday that detectives are working FBI So that the chemical used in the attack can be identified. Wasilewski’s son said investigators told the family it was so corrosive that it melted his mother’s car keys that were in her pocket.
Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther said officers are conducting extra patrols in parks throughout Savannah following the attack. No arrests had been announced as of Friday afternoon.
Police said they were searching for a person of interest and released a security camera image of a man wearing a black hoodie with a large cartoon rabbit drawn on the front. Police said in a social media post that the man “is not currently suspected in any crimes.”
“Our police department is handling this matter with the utmost urgency,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said in a statement. Facebook Post. He said: “Although this attack is extremely disturbing, there is currently no information to indicate a widespread or ongoing threat to the public.”
Police did not name Wasilewski as the victim. Both her son and Milam said she wanted to share her story in the hopes that people would come forward with information that would help police make an arrest.
Milam described her friend as a giving person who volunteered at a local nature center and packed grocery bags with snacks, toiletries and other essential items to give to homeless people. He said people close to Vasilevski were shocked and appalled by the attack.
“They didn’t rob him. They didn’t take anything from him,” Milam said. “It was a random person in the park who went out of his way to mutilate another human being.”