DENVER, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Eight young men face charges in Denver following a house party where a 14-year-old boy allegedly was doused with lighter fluid and set ablaze, police say.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said those arrested -- Erick Perez, 20, Damian Sibayan, 18, Cody Cummings, 18, David Ingram, 19, Michael Bellefeuille, 21, Joshua Baffo, 19 and Robert Freeman, 20 and Robert Rieneau, 20 -- face charges of attempted second-degree murder, suspicion of felony child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and tampering with evidence and efforts to intimidate witnesses, KMGH-TV, Denver reported Friday.
The southwest Denver house party was attended by about 20 people.
During the night, various party-goers allowed others to pour lighter fluid on them and light them on fire, the arrest affidavit said.
Authorities were called to the house at Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue at 3:30 a.m. Monday after witnesses saw the teen acting erratically and allegedly in need of medical attention.
The unidentified boy was rushed to The Children's Hospital in Aurora with severe burns on his hands, chest, neck and face, The Denver Post said.
The arrest affidavit alleges Perez told police the boy applied lighter fluid to himself and another person lit him on fire.
However, one witness alleges Sibayan and Cummings poured the combustible fluid on the teen who was passed out, and Perez unsuccessfully tried to set him on fire with his lighter, leaving Sibayan to do it, the Post reported.
"You don't see this every day. This is highly unusual you see a juvenile individual that's been set on fire by somebody else. It's highly concerning to us," Jackson said.
