Yesterday, a Brooklyn teenager was arrested after she attacked a classmate with acid during chemistry class. Zhanna Smsarian, 16, was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court for pouring acid on 15-year-old Albina Eshimbaeva’s head during a class at Fort Hamilton High School in Bay Ridge. And would you believe it: the attack was (at least partially) over an older man.
Smsarian and Eshimbaeva, who both participate in the school's ROTC program, used to be close friends—Eshimaeva even attended Smsarian's Sweet 16 party. But the two had a falling out—Eshimbaeva's mother told the News it was fueled by jealousy, but other reports indicate that Smsarian was angry at Eshimbaeva for stealing her 22-year-old Staten Island boyfriend, which Eshimbaeva denied.
Eshimbaeva told reporters that she had a bad feeling something was going to happen the day of the attack: "[Smsarian] was standing against a wall staring at me in an evil way. She was smiling, but it was evil. I knew something bad was coming, but didn't know what it was. Two seconds later, I felt the liquid falling down my bangs." Eshimbaeva was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital, where she was treated and released from the burn unit. "My whole face was burning. I thought I was blind. I couldn't see anything," she told the News. Doctors who treated Eshimbaeva said the teen, who was in her ROTC uniform at the time, only avoided losing her sight because the diluted solution was just 10 percent acid, and she won't have any scarring.
According to the criminal complaint, Smsarian admitted to police she had poured the acid onto Eshimbaeva “and was trying to burn Eshimbaeva’s eyes out." She also allegedly said she deserved what she got. Smsarian has been charged with first degree attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon, possession of noxious material and harassment. Another classmate of theirs told the Post, "Zhanna was always flipping out over little stuff."
