In this day and age it seems that pulling pranks has become more popular than ever amongst teens and kids. While pranks are meant to be humorous, they are instead becoming more and more dangerous causing more harm than laughs. This was unfortunately the case for one teen in Arkansas. Nickolas Conrad, 15, who had attended a sleepover, was sound asleep before suddenly waking up in excruciating pain. As he opened his eyes, he saw his friends standing over him. He realized that he’d been pranked but it was far from funny. “I felt this bad burning on my neck and I woke up and I just started screaming and crying,” Conrad tells KTHV. “I just laid in bed crying for about two hours, and I finally got up and went to the bathroom and looking in the mirror and realized that this happened,” he said.
“They told me that they poured hot water on me, and they didn’t realize it was that hot but it was pretty bad at that time.” After arriving back home the next morning, his mother immediately took him to the hospital. There he learned he suffered from first and second-degree burns. He also suffered a small burn on his arm where his friends had used a cigarette lighter.
However, Conrad isn’t the only one to become a victim of a horrible prank. A few months back 11-year-old Jamoneisha Merritt was rushed to the hospital after suffering third-degree burns to her shoulders and face. The injuries occurred after she too, attended a sleepover and a bully from her school would also be attending the get-together. Jamoneisha like Conrad, was asleep when the girl poured scolding hot water on her. After spending 11 days in the hospital thankfully Merritt has recovered from her injuries.
However, Conrad is still recovering from his injuries and those “friends” of his are long gone. “I just want them to leave me alone,” says Conrad. “They’re not my friends anymore and they’re not going to be. I’ve realized what friends are and how they act and those were never my friends.” The 15-year-old’s mother expressed concern for her son, and says parents should always talk to their kids about how harmful pranks can be. “I thought he had been in an accident and that it had been an accident,” she tells KTHV. “But when I found out it was deliberate, it’s so concerning. Don’t ever say ‘My child won’t do that,’ and educate them.” According to FoxNews, no charges have been filed but authorities are still looking into the incident.