GIFU (TR) – Gifu Prefectural Police have launched an investigation after a middle school boy plunged to his death from an apartment building in Gifu City in an apparent suicide, reports NHK (July 3).
At around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, a female resident of the building, located in the Nagara Nishinomae area, tipped off police after finding the boy, 14, collapsed face-down in an adjacent parking lot.
The boy, attired in his school uniform, was later transported to a hospital where he was confirmed dead due to loss of blood. He also suffered a broken spine and pelvis, according to the Gifu-Kita Police Station.
The boy was a third-year student at a public school. At a press conference held the same day, the Gifu City Board of Education said that it is investigating whether the boy was a victim of bullying.
Though the boy’s responses to a survey last month revealed no signs that he was being bullied, it was learned that he was forced by his classmates to eat food that he disliked at the end of May, the board said.
The board added that that a third-party committee will investigate whether the boy was bullied.
