10-Year-Old Boy on Life Support After a Bully Set Him Alight

A 10-year-old boy is now on life support after a bully doused him in petrol and set him alight.

Kayden Culp, from Texas in the US, was allegedly attacked by one boy while playing in a field on Sunday afternoon last week.

Kayden’s auntie, Kelly Mack, said Kayden was playing with two other children when one boy doused him with gasoline and another set him on fire off Wallace Street in Kerrville. The floor of a shed also burned. “The other kids are saying that he was going to be riding his bike like he always does and they said, ‘we’re going to grab him and take him inside and burn him’.” Kelly said.

Kayden is now on life support in an induced coma. His organs are failing from the horrific burns to more than 20 per cent of his body, from his ears to his belly button.

Kayden’s mother, 29-year-old Tristyn Hatchett, was left heartbroken as she revealed her son saying to her when they were in the ambulance, that the specific boy, “needs to go to jail.”

Tristyn told News 4 San Antonio that Kayden exhibits autistic behaviour but has not been diagnosed. He also has trouble speaking and hearing.

“There’s no reason they should not already be incarcerated. The other boys who were there having been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional,” she said.

She also added what was worse was that Kayden thought the boys were his friends.

“He considered these guys his friends, but they would make fun of him and pick on him and tease him. He was usually the brunt of that kind of joke, but he kept playing with them,” Tristyn said.

In a statement released, the boy, whose identity has not been released, is “responsible for causing the victim’s severe burns.”

The Kerrville Fire Marshal confirmed on Wednesday night that a child was taken into custody and charged with first-degree arson over the attack.

Kayden’s family believes the attack was planned. “If it wasn’t premeditated, it still is attempted murder,” Kayden’s aunt said.

Source: Kidspot.com.au