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.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
