Second mass shooting in days in Serbia

A shooter killed at least eight people and injured 13 in a drive-by shooting in a town near Belgrade late Thursday. Second Mass Killing in Serbia in Two Daysstate television reported.

Attackers used automatic weapons to randomly open fire on people near the town of Mladenovac, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital, the RTS report said early Friday morning. Police are looking for a 21-year-old suspect who fled after the attack, the report said.

Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic called the shooting an “act of terrorism,” the report said.

A special police and helicopter force has been dispatched to the area, as well as ambulances, he added. No other details were immediately available and police have not released a statement.

A 13-year-old boy used his father’s gun in a school shooting in Belgrade on Wednesday, killing eight classmates and a school security guard. The bloodshed sent shockwaves through the Balkans, unaccustomed to such mass murder.

Dozens of Serbian students dressed in black and carrying flowers paid a quiet tribute Thursday to a classmate who had been killed the day before.

Students flooded in from all over the city, filling the streets around the school in central Belgrade. Earlier, thousands of people lined up to lay flowers, light candles and bring toys to commemorate the eight children and one school security guard who were killed Wednesday morning. I left it.

Outside the school, people stood in front of piles of flowers, little teddy bears and soccer balls, crying and hugging each other. A gray and pink elephant toy was placed on the school fence with a message of grief, and the girls’ ballet shoes hung from the fence.

The Balkans are having a hard time accepting what happened. Despite the abundance of leftover weapons from the wars of the 1990s, mass shootings are still extremely rare and this is the first school shooting in Serbia’s modern history.

The tragedy has also sparked debate about the general state of the country after decades of crisis and conflict, the aftermath of which has created deep political divisions as well as enduring unrest and instability. It was

Authorities moved Thursday to tighten gun control. Police urged citizens to lock their guns and keep them out of reach of children.

Police said the boy used his father’s gun to carry out the attack. He spent his month planning, sketching classrooms and making lists of children he planned to kill, police said Wednesday.

Visiting the shooting range with his father, the boy, who apparently had codes in his father’s safe, retrieved two guns from the safe where they were kept along with the bullets.

“The Home Office is calling on all gun owners to keep their guns out of reach of others, especially children, and to keep them locked in safes and closets.”

Seven people were hospitalized in Wednesday morning’s shooting at Vladislav Livnikar primary school: six children and a teacher. A girl who was shot in her head remains in a life-threatening condition and a boy has a serious spinal cord injury, doctors said Thursday morning.

Authorities have announced that a helpline will be set up to help people deal with this tragedy. Hundreds called for blood donations for the wounded victims. A three-day period of mourning begins Friday morning.

The Serbian teachers’ union has announced protests and strikes to demand change and warn of the crisis in the school system. Officials downplayed responsibility, with some officials blaming Western influence rather than a deep social crisis within the country.

The shooter, whom police identified as Kosta Kekmanović, has not disclosed a motive for his actions.

Upon entering the school, Kecmanović first killed a security guard and three students in the corridor. He then went to a history class where he shot a teacher and then pointed a gun at his student.

Kecmanovic then dropped the gun on the schoolyard and called the police, who had already been alerted by school officials. “A psychopath,” police said.

Among those killed were seven girls, one boy and a school security guard. One of the girls was a French citizen, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

Authorities say Kecmanovic is too young to be charged and tried. He was put in a mental hospital while his father was in custody on suspicion of endangering public safety because his son got a gun.

Belgrade resident Zoran Sefik said at a memorial service near the school on Wednesday evening, “I think we are all guilty. I think I’m responsible for what happened,” he said.

Another Belgrade resident, Jovan Lazovic, said he was not surprised.

Gun culture is widespread in Serbia and other parts of the Balkans. The region is one of the top he in Europe for the number of guns per capita.Guns are often fired into the air at celebrations, and the worship of warriors is part of national identity, yet the last time there was a mass shooting was in 2013, when a veteran killed 13 people In a village in central Serbia.

Experts have repeatedly warned of the dangers weapons numbers pose in a deeply divided country like Serbia, where convicted war criminals are celebrated and violence against minority groups often goes unpunished. I was. They also note that decades of instability stemming from the conflicts of the 1990s and ongoing economic hardships could trigger such an explosion.

“We have been subjected to violence for too long,” psychologist Zarco Trebiesanin told N1 TV. We have to create a system.”