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In response to the two mass murders that occurred in 48 hours, the government of President Aleksandar Vucic announced that it will implement a large-scale plan to remove hundreds of thousands of weapons from the country. On the other hand, the Serbian authorities reported this Friday, May 5, the arrest of a young man in his 20s, accused of being the author of the shooting that the day before left at least eight people dead.
After the two mass shootings in 48 hours that left at least 17 dead in total, the Serbian president Alexander Vucic assured that his government will launch a plan to withdraw hundreds of thousands of weapons from the national territory.
“We will carry out an almost complete disarmament of Serbia,” said the president during his speech broadcast live on local television.
Likewise, the head of state proposed stricter arms control measures. This will include a two-year moratorium on the issuance of firearms permits, which he called “practical disarmament.” Under this scheme, more frequent and mandatory medical and psychological controls would also be required for the owners of these devices.
The president also announced that his government will hire 1,200 new police officers to improve security in schools, after describing last Wednesday’s tragedy as “one of the most difficult days” in the country’s recent history.
Although in Serbia the president is largely a symbolic figure, Vucic wields considerable power as he heads the ruling party.
Meanwhile, the Home Office called on all firearms owners to keep them locked up and in safes. Those who do not abide by the measure will have those artifacts seized.
In addition, this portfolio will also urge individuals who possess illegal weapons and explosive devices to turn them in within a maximum period of one month, in exchange for not having legal consequences.
Arrested the alleged perpetrator of the second shooting
On the other hand, the authorities announced the arrest of the alleged perpetrator of the second shooting that hit Serbia this week, which left 8 dead. SIt is about a young man around 20 years of age who was wearing a T-shirt with neo-Nazi symbols who was found in his grandfather’s house in the early hours of this Friday, May 5.
“The suspect UB, born in 2002, has been detained in the vicinity of the city of Kragujevac, suspected of killing eight people and injuring 14 overnight,” said a statement from the Ministry of the Interior, explaining that the alleged responsible fired indiscriminately at several people in three villages before fleeing.
In addition, the Police indicated that the grandfather and an uncle of the alleged attacker were apprehended.
According to investigators, it all started on Thursday night in the town of Dubona, located about 42 kilometers south of Belgrade, when the suspect was involved in an altercation in a schoolyard.
The young man left the place, but later returned with an assault rifle and a pistol. He then opened fire and continued to shoot random people from a moving car.
The events occurred when the country was still not recovering from the shock of another mass shooting, which occurred just a day earlier at a Belgrade school. There, on Wednesday May 3, a 13-year-old minor armed with two of his father’s pistols killed nine people and injured seven others. Most of the victims were classmates, although a security guard also died.
Serbs had just begun three days of mourning for those victims when news of the second shooting broke.
“This is terrible for our country, it is a great defeat. In two days so many… dead,” said a resident of Dubona, identified as Ivan.
Serbia, a country awash in weapons that is beginning to be “shocked by reality”
The Balkan nation has a strong culture of gun ownership, especially in rural areas. In fact, the country has one of the highest numbers of firearms per capita in the world.
However, Serbia also has strict control laws in this matter. Automatic weapons are illegal, and over the years the authorities have offered various amnesties to those who turn them in.
Mass shootings in the country are rare and the one that occurred last Wednesday is the first in a school in the country’s modern history.
But both Serbia and the other Balkan nations remain awash in military-grade weapons and ammunition left under private ownership after the wars of the 1990s, experts say.
“We don’t even have an assessment of how many illegal weapons there are and what kind,” said Aleksandar Zivotic, a historian at the University of Belgrade.
Thousands gathered in Belgrade to mourn with the families of school-shooting victims. A 13-year-old boy gunned down eight fellow pupils and a security guard in a planned attack, prompting Serbia’s president to announce tougher curbs on gun ownership https://t.co/IbURWwJ9tg pic.twitter.com/0JoEPiKw4G
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 4, 2023
For his part, Dragan Popadic, a professor of psychology at the University of Belgrade, said the school shooting exposed the level of violence present in society and caused deep shock. “People have suddenly been jolted by reality,” he stressed.
For years, experts have warned of the danger posed by the number of weapons in Serbia, a deeply divided country where convicted war criminals are often glorified and violence against minority groups often goes unpunished.
Analysts also point out that decades of instability stemming from the conflicts in the decade of the Balkan Wars, as well as ongoing economic difficulties, could trigger more violent outbursts.
With Reuters and AP
