A ten-year-boy is in a critical condition after being set on fire by school bullies.
Kayden Culp, who displays signs of autism, is in hospital with burns to 20 per cent of his body after he was doused in petrol and set alight.
News 4 San Antonio reports one child has been taken into custody and charged.
Kayden’s mother Tristyn Hatchett, 29, said: ‘There’s no reason they should not already be incarcerated,’ News.com.au reports.
‘The other boys who were there having been telling kids at school that it was not an accident, that it was intentional.’
She added: ‘My son is a special guy. He was rowdy and he liked to have fun,” she said. “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.’
Kayden’s condition is deteriorating; he remains in an induced coma.
Hatchett says her son exhibits autistic behavior but has not been diagnosed. He also has trouble speaking and hearing.
A YouCaring page has been set up to help raise money for Kayden.