Serbia reels from two mass killings in two days: Calls for fun control and national soul-searching

Belgrade, May 5: On Friday, Serbia witnessed a second mass shooting in two days. The drive-by shooting left at least eight people dead and ten others injured in a town near Belgrade. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, fled the scene after using an automatic weapon to randomly shoot at people near Mladenovac. Meanwhile, police were unable to issue any statements, and no additional information was available.

In the previous day's school shooting in Belgrade, a 13-year-old boy had used his father's guns, killing eight of his schoolmates and a school guard. The incident has left the country in shock as mass shootings are rare, and this was the first school shooting in Serbia's modern history. Many Serbian students, who paid silent homage to their peers killed a day earlier, expressed their grief by lining up to leave flowers, light candles, and toys.

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The country is still grappling to come to terms with the tragedy. It has sparked a debate about the state of the nation following decades of crises, conflicts, and deep political divisions, which have created a state of permanent insecurity and instability. Consequently, authorities are taking steps to enhance gun control measures, urging citizens to lock up their guns and keep them out of reach of children.

The boy, who had been to shooting ranges with his father, had the code to his father's safe and had planned the attack for a month. He had sketched out classrooms and created lists of children he planned to kill. He took two guns from the safe, along with the bullets. The Serbian authorities have announced that Kosta Kecmanovic, the 13-year-old shooter, is too young to be charged and tried. He has been placed in a mental institution, and his father has been detained on suspicion of endangering public security.

In response to the tragedy, authorities announced a helpline to help people deal with the tragedy. There was a massive response from citizens who answered a call to donate blood for the wounded victims. Furthermore, the Serbian teachers' unions announced protests and strikes to demand changes in the school system, highlighting a crisis in the country.

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The shooter, Kosta Kecmanovic, has not given a motive for his actions. Upon entering his school, he first killed the guard and three students in the hallway. He then went to the history classroom, where he shot the teacher before turning his gun on the students. Kecmanovic then unloaded his gun in the schoolyard and called the police himself, though they had already received an alert from a school official. When he called, Kecmanovic told duty officers he was a "psychopath who needs to calm down."

The country is facing an increasing issue of gun culture, which is widespread in Serbia and the Balkans. The region is among the top in Europe in the number of guns per capita. Guns are often fired into the air at celebrations, and the cult of the warrior is a part of national identity. The danger posed by the number of weapons in a highly divided country like Serbia has been repeatedly warned by experts, and they note that decades of instability stemming from the conflicts of the 1990s, as well as ongoing economic hardship, could trigger such outbursts.

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- With inputs from agencies

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