THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994          TAG: 9409210425
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: HOPEWELL                           LENGTH: Short :   32 lines

3-YEAR-OLD SET ON FIRE; POLICE FOCUS ON 2 BOYS

Police focused on two boys Tuesday in their investigation into how a 3-year-old boy was doused with gasoline and set on fire.

``We're still talking to people. We're still trying to put it together, make sure we know what actually occurred,'' Hopewell Police Lt. M.D. Ellis said.

The child, whose name was not released, was in stable condition Tuesday with second- and third-degree burns over most of his body. He is being treated at Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in Richmond.

Authorities responding to a report of a fire Monday in a Hopewell alley found the child at his family's home about 6 p.m. Monday, Ellis said. After the child was flown to the hospital by helicopter, police began interviewing neighbors.

Ellis said early indications are that two boys, ages 9 and 11, may have ``poured gas around the victim, on the victim, and lit it.''

He said the 9- and 11-year-old live near the victim, but would not identify them further.

KEYWORDS: INJURIES JUVENILE CHILD SUSPICIOUS FIRE by CNB