JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “We have a child that just ran in the store on fire we need medical attention immediately,” said a male caller.
The first frantic 911 call came in at 5:19 p.m. on Feb. 8 from an unidentified witness, watching a horrific incident unfold inside this Kmart on the Westside.
“Where are his parents?” an operator said.
It’s a pressing question that no one had an answer to.
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Then another call comes in. This time you can hear the child yelling for help in the background:
Female caller: Hi, we have a child on fire at the Kmart on Normandy,
Operator: You have a fire?
Female caller: A child that caught on fire.
Operator: A child that caught on fire?
Female caller: Yes, he ran in here.
The operator stunned and in disbelief asks for an explanation.
Operator: How did he catch on fire ma'am?
Female caller: I don't know we don't know he ran... (child screams).
According to the police report, A 14-year-old boy, a 6-year-old boy and another younger child were in a car in the Kmart parking lot while their aunt shopped inside.
Investigators believe the 14-year-old set the 6-year-old's shirt on fire, using a lighter.
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Operator: Are you there with him now?
Female caller: Yes.
A witness sent us a photo of several people crowding around the child while they waited for help to arrive.
According to JFR, they were dispatched two minutes after the first call came in at 5:19 p.m.
The first fire engine arrived four minutes later and the first rescue unit got there in nine minutes.
The child was flown to UF Health's Burn Unit in Gainesville, where he is now.