A 13-year-old boy remains in custody following Sunday’s fatal stabbing of another 13-year-old in a quiet residential area of Schiedam, near Rotterdam, as police work to determine what happened.

The boy was attacked on Fjorddal, a quiet residential street in what locals describe as “the most respectable part of Schiedam,” and rang a doorbell asking for help. He later died of his injuries in hospital.

Locals have expressed their horror at the incident. “You don’t feel safe because things like this happen,” another teenager told RTL Nieuws. “It is really, really terrible.”

Schiedam mayor Harald Bergmann said he was shocked by the killing. “Across the country, young people are committing more serious crimes at an increasingly younger age,” he said, “especially involving knives and guns.”

Experts have also been taken aback by the ages of both the victim and the suspect, whom according to the AD were in the same first year class at school. So far, police have not commented on a possible motive.

“Young people are increasingly involved in stabbing incidents, but 13 is very young,” juvenile law professor Mariëlle Bruning told RTL Nieuws.

Criminologist Henk Ferwerda, an expert on stabbings, also said he was shocked by the age of the children involved. “I don’t know what happened, but I do know this is not a common occurrence,” he said. “Most young people involved in incidents like this are older.”

“There is also a difference between young people who carry weapons and those who use them,” he added. “Often, there is more at play, such as an unstable home situation, problems at school, or behavioural issues.”

Charges

It remains unclear whether the 13-year-old suspect will face charges. If he does, he will be tried under juvenile law and could face a maximum of one year in detention. He could also be ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment.

On Sunday evening, police found a large kitchen knife in nearby woods, which they think is the murder weapon. The suspect was arrested later that evening at the home he shared with his mother elsewhere in the town, the Telegraaf reported.

Friends of the victim told the Telegraaf that he was “an ordinary, nice kid” who ended up in the wrong class at secondary school.