In a bizarre attack on Oct. 17 that surfaced only Wednesday, a 3-year-old boy lost sight in one eye when an assailant threw acid at the children's playground inside a restaurant in Istanbul's Ataşehir district.
The boy, identified as Y.K., was at the playground on the first floor of the restaurant where his parents dined. According to media reports, a man around the age of 40, entered the playground where his former girlfriend reportedly worked as an attendant and hurled a substance, allegedly toward the woman. But the substance, later found out to be nitric acid hit three children inside. Two children escaped without injuries while acid burned their clothes but Y.K. suffered severe burns on his face and lost sight of his right eye. He had not sustained life-threatening injuries but his relatives told media outlets his face was heavily disfigured.
Meanwhile, the assailant fled the scene and police launched a manhunt to capture the man. Turkish media claimed security cameras at the restaurant were under maintenance at the time of the attack while the restaurant, a member of a famous Turkish restaurant chain, released a written statement. The statement said a criminal investigation was underway and they were cooperating with authorities.
