Serbia: The first funerals for victims of the two mass murders

Serbia is saying goodbye to some of the victims of the two mass murders that took place this week. Four children and the school guard who were tragically killed in the armed attack on the “Vladislav Ribnikar” elementary school by a fourteen-year-old student last Wednesday, May 3, will be buried in Belgrade cemeteries today. Eight 7th grade students and the school guard were killed during this attack. Five children and a teacher were injured.

In the village of Malo Orasije, about 50 kilometers south of Belgrade, the five young men who were killed on Thursday night (May 4th) when the 21-year-old killer spread death in three villages by shooting indiscriminately from his car will be buried today. Eight dead and 14 injured are the victims of the attack.

These two mass murders that occurred within a period of less than 48 hours have shocked public opinion and heightened feelings of insecurity and panic among citizens. As announced by the Ministry of the Interior, since yesterday morning the police have been continuously receiving phone calls from citizens who observe “some suspicious movements of their fellow citizens”. Typical is the case reported by the police about a lady who called from her apartment, located on a central street in Belgrade, to state that she saw a man walking on the opposite sidewalk holding a long gun. A special police unit immediately arrived at the scene and immobilized the “suspicious” man, but it turned out that the object he was holding was not a weapon. The police appealed to the citizens not to panic and not to call without reason.

Another problem faced by the Serbian security services is the so-called impersonation, which mainly occurs on social media. A fourteen-year-old student was arrested and taken to the juvenile investigator, yesterday, Friday, in the town of Sremska Mitrovica in Vojvodina. This student on a social networking platform posted the photo of the student who caused the bloodshed at the elementary school in Belgrade with the message: “Dude! And I will do the same.” A similar incident was reported in the town of Bihac, in northwestern Bosnia, with a high school student.

Another problem that the authorities in Serbia are trying to deal with is illegal arming and the control of weapons that are legally in the possession of citizens.

The Ministry of the Interior announced today that between May 8 and June 8, all those who illegally possess weapons or war material will be able to hand them over to the police without incurring criminal consequences.

Also, with a government decision taken yesterday, all licenses for the legal possession of weapons that have been granted will be reviewed.
In Serbia, with a population of 6.8 million, 765,000 firearms licenses are currently in force, but an estimated 2.5 million citizens own a firearm.