It is the summer of 2024, and a 13-year-old boy has just been added to a private Signal group by a recruiter with a menacing username.A message soon appears in the chat: “Are you ready to murder someone?”Within hours, the chat is filled with new handles.They offer the teenager mentorship.The tone at times is reassuring, promising cash and a sense of belonging.They tell him not to worry, that after he carries out the shooting, he will be sent to a special care facility for children and teenagers, where they will be able to get him out.One user says, “Brother, before a job it’s normal to feel nervous, but after you fire the first shot you’ll see everything becomes easy.”But the messages are also laced with threats.The recruiter who had added him to the group warns the boy, “If you take the weapon and disappear, we will come and find you, brother.” He adds that he would only get paid “if you hit him – he has to die”.He continues with an instruction: “Go behind him one or two metres and shoot him three or four times in the back.”He then gives him practical advice on handling a weapon, inc …
