Just about every single big city and small town across the country has playgrounds for children, and those locations are generally regarded as being a relatively safe place for kids to have fun while expending their energy.
But according to Fox News, a recent discovery made at a children’s playground in a small city in Texas has some parents increasingly worried about just how safe those playgrounds really are.
Parents in Huntsville, Texas were informed via a news release from the city government that somebody had tampered with the slides of at least two separate playgrounds in the city by attempting to embed razor blades in them.
A “heating device,” most likely a lighter or small blowtorch, was used to heat portions of the hard plastic slides enough to soften them momentarily so the blades could be embedded, quickly hardening around the blade as the plastic cooled to form a sort of “weld.”
The horrifying and dangerous addition to the slides were discovered during a routine inspection of the playground equipment by workers of the city’s Parks and Leisure Department. Obviously, they quickly repaired the slides to make them safe for kids to use again.
While the city put out a call for citizens to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and contact the police if they had any information, they also noted that they would be installing surveillance cameras at the parks to catch any future saboteurs.
Though the city had initially reported that multiple razor blades had been found on the slides, KBTX reported that Huntsville authorities have now clarified that only one blade was found embedded in a slide, though efforts were made to embed others and damaged was caused to the slides at both parks.
It was further revealed that the media release informing residents of the city about the danger found at the parks came several days after the workers had first discovered what had happened during their inspection.
Thankfully, there were no reports of any injuries derived from razor blades on playground slides prior to or after the warning being issued, but it is a safe bet that parents would rather have heard about such a horrifying thing immediately, instead of several days later.
Just a reminder folks, there are some decidedly cruel and downright evil people in this world who derive enjoyment out of causing harm to others, with some of the worst going after defenseless children or animals. Always keep an eye out for things that may cause injury to yourself or children, even at somewhere generally considered to be safe, like a city park for kids.
(via: Conservative Tribune)
