On Friday the boy was charged with planning to commit murder at Varberg district court.

The 16-year-old has admitted to conceiving detailed plans for killing the girls. He had already identified the scene where he was two shoot one of them, a couple of hundred metres from her home. The boy had hidden a rifle with a stand, sight and ammunition in his guitar case.

The girls were loosely acquainted with the boy, according to prosecutor Mats Forsén. They had chatted online over a period of a few months but the tone of their discussions had become increasingly spiteful.

“There were personal attacks and insults on both sides. They were more and more horrible to each other,” said Forsén.

However, no direct threats appear to have been made.

It was last summer that the boy began to hatch his plans to kill the two girls. One of his friends, a 15-year-old girl, participated in a conversation and at the beginning of Augist both of them were arrested on suspicion of planning to commit murder.

No evidence was found against the girl and the investigation into her involvement was dropped a month ago.

The boy’s plans were revealed when he mentioned them to another girl who passed the details on to the police. The boy’s parents later found the concealed weapon.

The 16-year-old boy was taken into youth custody pending trial.

According to Mats Forsén, the punishment for an adult in these circumstances would be around two years’ imprisonment. Considering the boy’s age, he will be most likely to be sentenced to youth detention or probation if found guilty.