Serbia charges parents of school shooter accused of killing 10
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BELGRADE – Prosecutors in Serbia on Tuesday charged the parents of a teenage boy accused of murdering 10 people, including nine fellow classmates, during a shooting at primary school in Belgrade in May.
The incident – along with a second shooting that occurred just a day later – rocked the Balkan nation, setting off mass demonstrations against the government.
The Belgrade higher public prosecutor’s office charged the suspected shooter’s father for a “serious act against general safety”, chief prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic told reporters during a media briefing.
Before the shooting, Mr Stefanovic said the father of the suspect had trained his son to “use firearms and airsoft weapons... shoot at targets... how to stand and breathe while handling the weapons”.
The father was also accused of not properly securing his weapons and ammunition, allowing the suspect to hide a handgun and 92 bullets in his backpack that he later used during the shooting.
The accused’s mother was charged with the illegal possession of ammunition, Mr Stefanovic added.
Prosecutors have also charged the head of a Serbian shooting club and an instructor for providing false testimony.
The suspected shooter was just 13 years old at the time of the shooting,
The charges must first be approved by a tribunal before the cases can go to trial.
Following the shootings, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic vowed to “disarm” Serbia with an ambitious plan that would crack down on legal and illicit firearms in the country.
Despite the pledge, the shootings sparked massive anti-government protests
However, the demonstrations have dramatically dropped in size after initially attracting tens of thousands of protestors.
Serbia has the highest level of gun ownership in Europe with more than 39 firearms for every 100 civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey project. AFP
