Peer violence in Skopje: 15 minors against a 13-year-old in Vlae, a 17-year-old arrested near Bit Pazar

Half past midnight, the "Delfina" square in Skopje's Vlae neighbourhood. Around 15 minors, one 13-year-old child. According to published reports, the boy's teeth were knocked out, and witnesses claim a metal object was also used on him.

The Interior Ministry confirmed that on 18 October at 3:30 pm a 39-year-old woman reported that her underage son had been physically attacked by a group of minors, some of whom he knew, and that a hard object had been used. The police say measures are being taken to clear up the case. That is all we know from the institutions so far.

Meanwhile, at around 5 pm near Bit Pazar, officers from the Skopje Interior Affairs Sector detained a 17-year-old from Skopje. They were acting on a report that he had attacked a 15-year-old with a sharp object and injured him. Once the case is fully documented, charges will be filed against him.

In both cases the victims and the attackers are minors. And there is one question social media asked faster than any official: what is a group of kids doing on a square at 00:30, with metal in their hands? In the comments, people are demanding accountability from the parents too - some suggest community service for the attackers, others want fines for "child neglect".

The anger is understandable, but anger is not a system. The system is what happens to the Vlae report once the Facebook wave dies down. Will we find out how many of the fifteen have been identified? Will the social work centre have anything to say, or will the case remain a single sentence in a police bulletin - "measures are being taken"?

Fifteen against one is not a scuffle between kids. It is an assault. And the institutions' response should be just as loud as the anger of the parents who let their children out every evening.