A woman doused with acid while strolling through a park has sparked an FBI manhunt.
Ashley Wasielewski, a churchgoing homeless volunteer, is recovering in hospital as police search for the perpetrator.
The corrosive liquid was so powerful that it melted her clothes and possessions.
The 46-year-old mum had been visiting a Christmas gathering at her local church in Savannah, Georgia, when the attacker struck at 8.16pm on Wednesday, December 10.
The assailant approached her from behind and poured the substance on her head, which tore through her skin.
Connor Miliam, her close friend, revealed the horrifying moment Ashley realised what was happening.
‘She was instantly like: ‘Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then her skin started to burn.’
Ashley watched in horror as her trousers began burning off her body. She would later realise the liquid had melted her car fob.
A bystander helped Ashley call her son Westley, who remembers hearing his mother’s screams through the phone.
‘We don’t know who did it,’ Westley said. ‘She doesn’t have any enemies. She is a friend to everyone.’
Ashley was rushed to hospital where she is being treated for second and third-degree burns over half her body, including her face, scalp, hands and legs.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for ‘extensive ongoing care—specialized burn treatments, rehabilitation, occupational therapy’.
Ashley is described as a ‘strong’, ‘fearless’ and ‘proud Christian woman’.
‘She will WIN this fight,’ the GoFundMe page reads.
Savannah Police have now released photos of a ‘person of interest’, adding that the man is ‘not currently a suspect’.
The CCTV image shows a hooded man with a cartoon rabbit emblazoned on his top, dark trousers and dark trainers.
Savannah Police Chief Lenny B. Gunther said detectives were ‘working around the clock’ to find the attacker.
On Friday, he said police had ‘no new information to release’ but increased police patrols were being deployed to reassure the public.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said: ‘Our Police Department is treating this case with the highest urgency.
‘While this attack is deeply troubling, there is currently no information indicating a broader or ongoing threat to the public.’
In the UK, a dad who suffered his own acid attack recently spoke out about his ordeal and slammed his attacker.
Robbie Scott, 22, squirted Paul Laskey, 43, with a bottle of suspected battery acid, in Newcastle in 2023.
Scott had mugged Laskey’s son, threatening him with a zombie knife before taking his jewellery, prompting Laskey to head out and confront him.
But Scott unleashed a sickening attack that caused Laskey to lose sight in one of his eyes.
Scott has since been rapping about his crimes from behind bars in videos posted to TikTok under ‘HMP hardest rapper Robdog’.
In one soundbite, Scott raps: ‘I used to roll on the streets with a kitchen knife, would not think twice about dipping guys.’
In video he can be seen chanting: ‘Robdog jailhouse settings, you know how we do, Geordie boys on coke, oh yes.’
Reacting to the rap videos, Laskey told Metro: ‘It’s a disgrace he is able to brag about things he does and has no remorse whatsoever.’
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