They are 18-year-old Vu Anh Duc, Vu Tuan Phat, Nguyen Dai Tuan, and Cao Xuan Truong, 15-year-old Cao Huy Hoan and Do Quoc Khanh, and Nguyen Dai Phat, 17. All reside in Nam Dinh.
On Jan. 7, the group asked Nguyen Anh Tuan, 18, to meet at a pond in Nam Giang Town to "settle a previous dispute."
When they met, the seven boys collectively beat up Tuan.
Tuan ran to escape, and the group chased after him through a rice field.
As Tuan got out of the field to reach a road, he was too tired to keep running and fell.
At that point, a member of the group continued to hit him with a stick.
Locals took Tuan to the hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he passed away on the night of Jan. 7.
Doctors said he had a skull injury aside from his wounded arm.
Police said the seven youths were requested to assault Tuan by a man identified as Hao.
They also said that Tuan came from a poor family. He currently lives with his grandparents as his parents were working in the south.
It is not clear if any of the boys who joined the assault had dropped out of school.