I was just about to post that link.
According to the article in the Chronicle, it does sound more like foul play - older student perhaps.
Oh how horrible... Prayers for this child’s family and friends. And prayers for whomever did this and their family as well. I hope their conscience weighs heavily enough on them to come forward and admit what happened so they can get some kind of help — if this was indeed a prank the guilt could drive them to either hurt themselves or others in the future as a result. What a horrible situation.
Oh, how horrible for his family.