Authorities stated on Friday that eight people were killed and 14 were injured in Serbia’s second mass shooting in two days, and that a suspect had been apprehended, prompting shock in a country that had just begun three days of mourning for the victims of the first massacre.
Authorities said the latest incident happened late Thursday in the hamlet of Dubona, 42 kilometres (26 miles) south of Belgrade.
According to RTS, the suspect, a young male, was engaged in an incident in a school yard. He drove away, then returned with an assault weapon and a pistol, began fire, and proceeded to shoot at random persons from a moving automobile.
“The suspect U.B., born in 2002, has been apprehended in the vicinity of the city of Kragujevac; he is suspected of killing eight people and wounding 14 overnight,” the Serbian Interior Ministry stated in a statement. An investigation is now underway.
According to RTS, among those slain were an off-duty police officer and his sister.
“This is sad; the young policeman is my daughter’s age, born in 1998,” Danijela, a middle-aged lady from Dubona, remarked. “My daughter is under the influence of sedatives; we couldn’t sleep all night.”
“They both grew up together.”
To track down the offender, authorities deployed a helicopter, drones, and several patrols.
“A Huge Defeat”
“This is terrible for our country; it’s a huge defeat.” “In two days, so many people were killed,” Ivan, a Dubona resident, remarked.
Serbs were still suffering after a horrific shooting on Wednesday, when a 13-year-old boy killed nine people and wounded seven more at a Belgrade school before turning himself in.
On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was due to address the country at 10.30 a.m. (0830 GMT).
Around 600 Serbian police officers, including the elite Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) and Gendarmerie, were involved in the overnight search for the suspect, dubbed Operation Whirlwind, according to RTS.
Overnight, heavily armed police officers set up a roadblock in the hamlet of Dubona and checked incoming vehicles. The area was surrounded by armed police SUVs and black vans.
The injured have been transferred to several local hospitals, and the Health Ministry has asked people to give blood, according to RTS.
Serbia has a strong gun culture, particularly in rural regions, yet it also has rigorous gun control legislation. Automatic guns are banned, and authorities have provided many amnesties to people who surrender them throughout the years.
On Friday, the Balkan country started three days of formal mourning for the victims of Wednesday’s deadly shooting.
In the event, the alleged gunman used two of his father’s firearms to murder eight students and a security guard in a corridor and history lesson at their Belgrade school.
On Thursday evening, hundreds of pupils with candles and flowers gathered in the streets surrounding the school for a vigil, while churches prepared mourning services.
On Thursday, dozens of high school teachers demonstrated in front of the Education Ministry in downtown Belgrade, demanding reforms to school security and the educational system.
Following the shootings on Wednesday, the government imposed a two-year ban on issuing new gun permits, a revision of existing permits, and checks on how gun owners store their weapons.
Nonetheless, Serbia and the rest of the Western Balkans are rife with military-grade weapons and ordnance that remained in private hands following the 1990s wars.
