Three teens detained over gruesome murder of 13-year-old classmate, sparking online debate in China

A man walks along the road in the city of Handan in northern China's Hebei province. Chinese authorities in the Feixiang district near Handan city announced three suspects have been detained over the March 10, 2024 gruesome murder of a thirteen-year-old boy, riveting users on Chinese social media and sparking debate over bullying and mental health in China's countryside. — AP

BEIJING: In the last recorded moments before the 13-year-old boy’s death, he was filmed by surveillance cameras sitting on a scooter, surrounded by three of his classmates. An hour later, his phone went dead, kicking off a frantic search by relatives.

The following day, officers in a village in central China made a sickening discovery: the boy's body, buried in an abandoned vegetable greenhouse underneath a tarp.