Police say the teenage suspect in German knife attack may have intended to set fire to a school

A former student who wounded an eight-year-old boy with a knife at a school in eastern Germany may have intended to set the building on fire, police said Thursday.

The 16-year-old suspect set himself alight after the knife attack in Bischofswerda, east of Dresden, on Wednesday. The flames were extinguished and he was arrested.

The knife attack is believed to have taken place after the younger boy “surprised” the suspect, police said in a statement, without elaborating. They said there are “initial indications that the suspect possibly wanted to set fire to the school.”

Authorities have said that, when officers searched the building, they found objects including knives, bottles and lighters.

The victim was in a stable condition on Thursday, police said. They are not currently able to question the suspect, who is in a coma, and his motives remain unclear.

Read more: AP