Italian police are investigating
two suspected cases of the Blue Whale suicide game, judicial
sources said Thursday.
In the first case, a high-school principal called the cops
after he saw a 16-year-old girl student with cuts on her lips
and on her arm at Moncalieri near Turin.
"Leave me alone, it's none of your business," the girl was
heard telling schoolmates.
The other reported case involved a male high school student
near Ancona who was also seen with cuts on his arm.
The local Resto del Carlino newspaper said police were
looking into other possible cases too.
Earlier this week youngster in Irpinia south of Naples was
cited for saying he was going to commit suicide, following the
game.
The online game that targets teenagers and young children is
triggering panic among parents and authorities worldwide after
apparently inciting several suicides in Russia.
Online surveillance over social media has been widened and
parents are being urged to be alert about their children's
online surfing habits.
The online challenge game, said to have originated in Russia,
starts with asking the participant to draw a blue whale on
paper.
From here, it starts getting creepy and outright harmful
physically.
Participants are asked to carve the whale "onto your body,
and while watching horror movies", and the game demands players
complete 50 tasks in 50 days, with the "last task to commit
suicide".
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