In Belgrade, a 13-year-old student breaks into a school and kills nine people in a shooting spree. He was taken to a neuropsychiatric clinic.
- New details about the perpetrator: Police find sketches of the planned rampage.
- Deadly Shots fired at Belgrade elementary school: parents are desperate and looking for children.
- This news ticker on the shooting at a primary school in Belgrade, Serbia, is updated regularly.
Update from May 4, 21:03 p.m.: One day after the massacre at a Belgrade school that left nine dead, the Serbian government has suspended the issuance of new gun licenses for two years. In addition, the Ministry of the Interior will carry out tightened inspections of gun owners over the next three months to check the proper storage of firearms and ammunition, according to the Beta news agency. This would have been decided by the cabinet at its meeting on Thursday.
After the killing spree in Belgrade, which cost the lives of nine people, the Serbian government is taking action – and stopping the issue of gun licenses. © Darko Vojinovic/dpa
13-year-old commits rampage in Belgrade – negative test for drugs and alcohol in the perpetrator
Update from May 4, 17:42 p.m.: After the shooting spree in Belgrade, in which a 13-year-old boy shot nine people, teachers demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Education for better education and more security in schools. This is reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In addition, there have been calls for the resignation of Education Minister Branko Ružić.
According to his lawyer, a negative test for drugs and alcohol could be proven in the case of the underage perpetrator. He was taken to a psychiatric facility.
Update from May 4, 15:46 p.m.: On Wednesday, a 13-year-old shot nine people at a school in Belgrade. Since the perpetrator has not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility, he was taken to a psychiatric facility. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced a moratorium on new gun licenses on Wednesday, according to Zeit Online – except for hunting. Existing permits are therefore to be reviewed more closely. The same applies to the storage of weapons.
The father of the 13-year-old perpetrator had a valid gun license. He, too, was initially arrested because the murder weapon belonged to him.
Nine dead after shooting spree in Belgrade: 13-year-old perpetrator in psychiatric hospital
Update from May 4, 12:50 p.m.: A 13-year-old caused a bloodbath at his own school in Belgrade on Wednesday morning. He killed nine people – eight students and a security guard. Six other students and a teacher suffered injuries. The country is in shock. "This is one of the most difficult days in modern Serbian history," President Aleksandar Vučić told the press in the evening. Serbia is united in mourning.
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Since the boy was born in 2009, he is not criminally responsible under Serbian law and cannot be brought to justice. Police arrested his parents on Wednesday. The boy was taken to a neuropsychiatric clinic after his arrest.
The 13-year-old's father had a valid gun license, according to Veselin Milic, the director of the Belgrade police. The police suspect him of not having kept her properly. The boy should not have been given access to them. As President Vučić explained in his press conference, the father is an "exemplary doctor". At the same time, he expressed his astonishment that the father had gone with the son to a shooting range and practiced shooting with him.
A student shot at classmates and school staff at Belgrade's Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School, killing eight children and a security guard. © Armin Durgut/AP/dpa
Nine dead after shooting spree in school in Belgrade: police comment on possible motive of the 13-year-old
Update from May 4, 5:40 a.m.: After the fatal shooting at the Belgrade primary and secondary school, the police published new findings. Accordingly, the alleged perpetrator is said to have been a very good student and even the best of his class. The reason for the killing spree could be a bad grade, about which he is said to have been angry.
He shot nine people with a gun. According to media reports, several bottles of a flammable liquid were also found in his bag, which were supposed to serve as Molotov cocktails. In the schoolyard, however, the 13-year-old attacker was overwhelmed by police officers.
At a school in Belgrade, a 13-year-old shot nine people. © Darko Vojinovic/dpa
Update from May 3, 16:35 p.m.: According to the AFP news agency, the alleged perpetrator is a 13-year-old teenager and not a 14-year-old, as was initially reported. The boy had killed eight children and a security guard. The children killed were seven girls and one boy born in 2009, 2010 and 2011, according to Belgrade's police chief Veselin Milic.
In his backpack, the boy is said to have carried a second weapon, the authorities said. As Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic announced, the father of the suspect, who owned the murder weapon, was also arrested. "The father claims that the weapons were locked in a safe, but apparently the boy knew the code because he was able to take the pistols and three magazines with 15 rounds of ammunition each," Gasic said.
According to a mother of one child, the teachers reacted quickly to bring the school children to safety. Her daughter witnessed the fatal shooting of the security guard and then immediately ran into her class. "She was scared. She told her teacher that there was shooting at the top," the woman said. The teacher had brought the children "immediately" to safety and locked them in the classroom. The police had been alerted by the deputy headmistress of the school, reported police chief Milic. Two minutes later, the attacker himself called the police. "He said he shot several people in elementary school," Milic said.
Dead after school shooting on May 3 in Belgrade: New details on the perpetrator – police find sketches "like from a horror movie"
Update from May 3, 15:15 p.m.: After the rampage of a 14-year-old teenager who shot nine people at his own school, the boy's motive is still unclear. However, the teenager had proceeded according to plan and even had a list of potential victims, as Belgrade police director Veselin Milic announced at a press conference in the Serbian capital in the afternoon. For months, the boy had planned his act, said police chief Milic. They found sketches and plans on his desk that looked "like something out of a horror movie or video game."
With his father's gun and four incendiary devices in his pocket, he went to his school, where he first killed a security guard and two students. Then he went to his school class, which was having history lessons. He changed the magazine of his weapon and opened fire from the door frame, on the teacher and on several students. Then he ran into the schoolyard and called the police.
A crying man walks alongside police officers blocking the entrance to the school. © Oliver Bunic/AFP
Fatal shooting on May 3 in school in Belgrade: Parents desperate – "Please tell us something"
Update from May 3, 14:38 p.m.: The Serbian government has ordered a three-day national mourning following the fatal shooting at Belgrade's Vladislav Ribnikar Primary School. This was announced by Education Minister Branko Ruzic on Wednesday at a press conference in the Serbian capital. The alleged perpetrator is said to have called the police himself after the bloodbath, as the director of the Belgrade police, Veselin Milic, said at the press conference. The crime is said to have been prepared for a long time.
The shooting spree at an elementary school has shaken the whole of Serbia. Some parents still don't know if something has happened to their children. Parents told the BBC that the police would not give them any more information matinees. "Please tell us something," they allegedly begged the officers. Worried relatives would call hospitals to find out if their children had been admitted. The police had asked the worried parents, who have not yet heard from their children, to report to a police station.
The injured, who were taken to the hospital, suffered gunshot wounds. A 13-year-old schoolgirl suffered "life-threatening injuries," the New York Times quoted Serbian Health Minister Danica Grujicic as saying.
A woman takes her child away from elementary school, where a gunman killed several people. © Oliver Bunic/AFP
Shots fired in Belgrade: security guard stands in the way of shooters - "and was the first victim"
Update from May 3, 14:04 p.m.: The first shots were fired on Wednesday morning at around 08:40 a.m. in the Vracar district in the center of Belgrade. The police immediately sent all available police patrols to the school, the Interior Ministry said. The alleged perpetrator, a 14-year-old seventh-grader, was arrested. The boy's motive remains unclear. The police are working hard to "clarify all the facts and circumstances that led to this tragedy," the Serbian Interior Ministry said.
The security guard, who died in the rampage, probably prevented further victims. He is said to have stood in the way of the shooter, as Milan Nedeljkovic of the district administration in Vracar said. The security guard "wanted to prevent the tragedy and he was the first victim," Nedeljkovic told journalists outside the school building. The police cordoned off the school extensively.
In front of the school, worried parents were waiting for their children. Astrid Merlini, whose daughter was at school during the shooting, said teachers reacted quickly to get the schoolchildren to safety. Her daughter witnessed the fatal shooting of the security guard and then immediately ran into her class. "She was scared. She told her teacher that there was shooting at the top," Merlini said. The teacher had brought the children "immediately" to safety and locked them in the classroom.
In Serbia, primary school lasts eight years. Gun violence is extremely rare in Serbian schools. In the Balkan country, the acquisition and possession of a firearm with a permit is legal.
Killing spree in Belgrade: Police arrest suspect in schoolyard
Update from May 3, 13:33 p.m.: After the shooting spree at a primary school in Belgrade, a student is in mortal danger, as the Serbian Ministry of the Interior announced on its homepage. A student of the school, born in 2009, had been arrested as a suspect in the schoolyard, the ministry said. The government plans to comment further on the case in the early afternoon.
A suspect is escorted by police at an elementary school. © Uncredited/AP/dpa
Shots fired in Belgrade: schoolboy opens fire - nine people dead
First reported on 3 May: Belgrade – A student shot at classmates and staff at a Belgrade school on Wednesday, killing several people. According to information from the AFP news agency, nine people were killed, including eight children and the school's security guard. Six schoolchildren and a teacher were injured by the shooter, who is said to be a student of the school.
Shots fired in Belgrade: Student enters school with gun - Nine people dead
Earlier, the Serbian Interior Ministry said that the police had detained a suspected shooter. The news portal "nova.rs" reported, citing unspecified sources, that the alleged perpetrator was a 14-year-old seventh-grade student. He allegedly broke into the school and shot at the students. Three schoolchildren are said to have been taken to hospital, according to state television RTS. Initially, this information was not officially confirmed.
Police are blocking the streets around a primary school in Belgrade where shots have been fired. © Darko Vojinovic/dpa
Police and rescue workers moved out with a large contingent to the school in the center of Belgrade. The police cordoned off the surrounding area extensively, as media reported. Education Minister Branko Ruzic and Health Minister Danica Grujicic also went to the scene of the tragedy.
