BAKU – A 14-year-old boy in Portugal has confessed to deliberately setting several wildfires after struggling with poor school performance and social difficulties, authorities said.
According to the Judicial Police, the boy admitted riding his scooter to forest areas and using matches to start fires in Seidões, Ardegão and Arnozela.
Investigators said he may have acted out of “anger and frustration,” though they have not ruled out the possibility that he was part of a group.
“The minor may have acted out of anger and frustration, given his poor school performance and the obvious precariousness of his social relationships,” the police said in a statement.
The Braga Judicial Police, which led the probe, turned the case over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for referral to the Family and Children’s Court.
Police launched the investigation after multiple blazes began in the same areas.
By August 20, at least 52 people had been arrested nationwide on suspicion of arson, most of them in the same month, according to data.
Emergency services said that on Friday morning, 97 fires were still burning, but most are under control and in the process of being extinguished.
