A stroll after church turned into a horrifying attack for a Georgia woman now hospitalized after a random person left her as “her skin started to burn.”
(Video Credit: WJCL)
Investigators in Savannah, Georgia, are asking for the public’s help after an attack on Wednesday night, in which 46-year-old Ashley Wasielewski was airlifted for specialty care. Now, after a chemical attack left her with burns covering more than half her body, federal authorities are working with local officials to identify a suspect in the random attack.
“She was instantly like, ‘Why are you pouring water on me?’ And then her skin started to burn,” friend Connor Milam told the New York Post of the attack on Wasielewski as she’d decided to walk through Forsyth Park following a nearby church’s Christmas program.
“She looked down and her pants were starting to burn off her body. She started screaming. They didn’t rob her. They didn’t take anything from her,” he explained. “This was a random person in the park who went out of their way to disfigure another human being.”
Images circulating on social media showed the victim with her head nearly entirely covered in bandages, alongside an image of a person of interest wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, adorned with a cartoon image of a white rabbit.
Sharing the images, Mario Nawfal asked followers on X to imagine the scenario if the race of the victim and the person of interest were swapped. “If the victim were Black and the suspect were White, you’d already have press conferences, marches, and a multi-part CNN docuseries in production. But this? Silence. A violent attack that could be random or could be targeted, and the press collectively shrugs.”
🚨🇺🇸 SAVANNAH WOMAN SET ON FIRE WITH CHEMICALS… NO ARREST, NO HEADLINES
She was walking near Forsyth Park when someone came up behind her and poured a chemical on her.
Not pushed, not punched… poured acid.
Clothes melted. Skin burned. Screams loud enough to bring… https://t.co/dD7gPSpPiz pic.twitter.com/WpUacrJ9C4
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 12, 2025
To Nawfal’s point, Wednesday’s attack took place two days before video circulated of a white student in Atlanta being stabbed in the head at school by a black student, garnering limited coverage from corporate media.
Speaking with the Post, the victim’s son relayed how Wasielewski had been transported to Augusta Burn Center for treatment of second- and third-degree burns on her face, scalp, hands, and legs.
“We don’t know who did it,” he explained. “She doesn’t have any enemies. She is a friend to everyone.”
Sharing the image of the person of interest on Facebook, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson (D) insisted, as police presence was ramped up, “Let me be clear: this kind of violence has no place in Savannah. Our Police Department is treating this case with the highest urgency.”
“Detectives are actively investigating the motive and circumstances, and while this attack is deeply troubling, there is currently no information indicating a broader or ongoing threat to the public,” he added.
As of Friday, authorities had no progress to report on identifying the suspect, and Savannah Police Chief Lenny B. Gunther released a video that both assured the public of the suspected isolated nature of the attack while requesting assistance from the public in case in providing leads toward identifying the attacker.
Savannah Police Chief Lenny B. Gunther shares an important message with our community regarding Wednesday’s assault in Forsyth Park.
Thank you for taking a moment to listen as we continue working together to keep Savannah safe.  pic.twitter.com/NuxVd2hW8E
— City of Savannah (@cityofsavannah) December 12, 2025
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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