9 AUGUST 2022 – Jayceon Charles, age 8, accepted an invitation to spend the night at his white friend’s Warren, Arkansas home in order to join the family on a trip to a nearby amusement park the next day. When everyone’s parents agreed on a time for drop-off, Jayceon’s parents drove him to his friend’s house, confident that he would be safe.
Jayceon’s parents received a call from their son later that evening, but he hung up when they answered. When they called him back, all they could hear in the background was their third-grader yelling hysterically. As they rushed to help him, they discovered their son at a friend’s house, covered in vaseline and plastic wrap.
Jayceon was admitted to the hospital with severe burns covering 80% of his body, kidney failure, brain damage, and sepsis, a potentially fatal medical emergency in which the body violently reacts to an infection. He had multiple surgeries, 5 inches of his small intestine removed, was revived twice, and was put on a ventilator.
According to the family at the house, the burn occurred while Jayceon was roasting hot dogs with his friends, and an explosion occurred. When questioned, they couldn’t explain why they didn’t dial 911. Jayceon’s parents believe the family is concealing the truth about what happened to their son, and it appears that no one is concerned because they are having difficulty obtaining information from authorities who have not contacted them.
Even the hospital staff failed to do their job and did not call the police as they should have in this situation. Because of the silence and lack of compassion displayed, the Charles Family is forced to believe that this is a case of racism because the other family is white.
