A Special Needs Boy Was Reportedly Set on Fire by Bullies

Kerrville, Texas, authorities say a juvenile has been charged with arson in connection with an incident Sunday afternoon that left a local 10-year-old boy severely burned.

"It's about time," Bobby Hatchett said early Thursday from the University Hospital room where his son, Kayden Culp, remains in a drug-induced coma while being treated for burns over 20% of his body.

Hatchett, who reported Culp's condition was improving, said he thinks two other boys allegedly involved in the incident in a vacant lot off Wallace Street should also face charges. "He's stable today," he said. "He's doing a lot better than the last two days."

Kayden Culp, 10, lies in a University Hospital bed after suffering second degree burns he received while he was with other children over the weekend in Kerrville.

The suspect taken into custody was not identified in a press release issued late Wednesday, nor did city authorities indicate in it whether the fire that burned Culp was deliberately set to injure him.

It said the investigation by City Fire Marshal Chris Lee identified the suspect "as the individual responsible for causing the victim's severe burns." The investigation remains "open and ongoing," officials said.

Culp's mother, Tristyn Hatchett, said Wednesday that a relative of one of the four or five boys present during the incident told her afterward that one boy had poured gasoline on Culp and another boy ignited it.

Also, she noted, "The other boys who were there have been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional."

Culp, who has a hearing disorder and a speech impediment, was often picked on by playmates, family members said.

"They make fun of him. He gets beat up in Carver Park every time he's goes up there. That's just the way it is. The kids are really mean," said Alike Richardson, his aunt, on Wednesday.

From: My San Antonio