The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Police say a 12-year-old boy suffered severe burns in New York City when he doused himself in flammable liquids, lit a match and set himself on fire as part of a social media challenge.
Fire officials tell the Daily News that firefighters responded to a home in the Queens neighborhood of Far Rockaway on Tuesday night and found the burned boy but no fire.
The boy was taken to a hospital in serious condition. Police say he is expected to survive.
Police tell WABC-TV the boy had been trying to perform the “fire challenge” by doused himself in rubbing alcohol before setting himself ablaze with a lighter while standing in a bathroom.
Neighbors helped extinguish the fire by throwing water on him after the boy ran out of his house.