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Mental tests ordered for Indiana boy charged in bus fire

Posted June 14, 2011 11:00 pm

Associated Press

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for a 14-year-old boy charged with setting a fire that destroyed four school buses parked outside an elementary school near Lafayette.

The Tippecanoe County judge on Tuesday also ordered the boy's mother to enroll in an intensive parenting program before a hearing next month.

The Journal & Courier reports the woman admitted her son was still up when she went to bed in the hours before the fire started about 2:30 a.m. June 3 at Wea Ridge Elementary School.

Judge Loretta Rush said a mental health screening done after the teenager's arrest found several caution signs. The boy has no previous arrests and is being held at a juvenile detention facility.

Tippecanoe School Corp. officials estimate the fire caused $500,000 in damage.

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