National

Toddler Suffers Critical Burns During SWAT Team’s Drug Raid (Warning: Graphic Images)

19-month-old Bounkham Phonesavanh is being treated for severe burns to his face. WSB-TV screenshot

By Bruce Wright

May 30, 2014

A SWAT team conducting a search warrant for drugs this week at an Atlanta area home mistakenly threw a “stun grenade’’ into the crib of a 19-moth-old toddler, gravely injuring the boy, according to his family.

The child is currently in a medically-induced coma because of the incident, said his mother, Alecia Phonesavanh, who told WSB-TV that the grenade landed in the crib and “exploded on his pillow right in his face.’’

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In an ideal situation, stun grenades are non-lethal weapons used to produce a loud bang with a bright flash of blinding light to subdue perpetrators of alleged crimes.

Cornelia Police Chief Rick Darby expressed remorse but also offered some reasons for the SWAT team’s actions, which were reportedly brought on from previous drug activity at that same location.

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The boy is currently in Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital burn unit.

Phonesavanh said she brought her young son to her sister-in-law’s home for a visit.

The operation ultimately resulted in the arrest of a 30-year-old male drug suspect who was in the home at the time.

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