A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY HAS been charged with arson after he threw a burning petrol canister at a 10-year-old boy with special needs, leaving him with serious burns.
The incident happened in the US state of Texas. The older boy had poured petrol onto a fire in a shed when the canister went up in flames.
The boy panicked, threw the canister and hit 10-year-old Kayden Culp in the process, police said.
However, this has been disputed by some members of Kayden Culp’s family.
The victim’s mother, Tristyn Hatchett, has said 20% of his body is burned, from ears to belly, and he has been in an induced coma.
Police Chief David Knight said four young boys who were “friendly” with each other were in a shed where there was an initial fire.
Knight, who didn’t know how that fire started, said the juvenile who has been charged at one point left and returned with a gas canister in hopes of making the fire bigger.
He said that when the fire travelled up to the canister, he discarded it and it hit the victim.
Knight said:
We have no indication that there was any premeditation involved to injure this child.
However, Kayden’s aunt Kelly Mack told News4 San Antonio it was done deliberately. She said: “The other kids are saying that he was going to be riding his bike like he always is, my nephew Kayden is going to be riding his bike, and they said we’re going to grab him and take him inside and burn him.
“If it wasn’t premeditated, it still is attempted murder.”
Over $200,000 (€178,000) has been raised for the young child since the incident, according to his official fundraising page.
With reporting by AP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say