BELGRADE – A courtroom in Serbia on Monday convicted the dad and mom of a teenage boy who final 12 months shot lifeless 9 pupils and a college guard and wounded six extra individuals in a college in central Belgrade.
The Greater Courtroom in Belgrade sentenced Vladimir Kecmanovic, father of the boy, to 14 years and 6 months in jail for “grave acts in opposition to public security” and for little one neglect. The mom, Miljana Kecmanovic was sentenced to 3 years in jail for little one neglect however was acquitted on costs of unlawful possession of weapons.
The shooter, recognized as Kosta Kecmanovic, was 13 years outdated when he dedicated the crime and subsequently too younger to face a trial, in response to Serbian regulation. His dad and mom had been detained quickly after the taking pictures and charged for failing to maintain the weapons out of attain of their son.
The bloodbath on the Vladislav Ribnikar main faculty in central Belgrade on May 3, 2023, shocked the Balkan nation which was used to crises however the place mass faculty shootings had by no means occurred earlier than.
The couple’s lawyer, Irina Borovic, stated the decision got here as no shock “as a result of public strain was huge and the expectations had been big.” Borovic stated she is going to attraction the verdicts.
Ninela Radicevic, who misplaced her daughter within the taking pictures, stated “we aren’t glad as a result of nobody was held accountable for the homicide of 9 youngsters” and the varsity guard.
The boy used his father’s weapons to open fireplace on his fellow pupils and others. He walked into the varsity and first opened fireplace within the corridor earlier than heading right into a classroom the place he continued taking pictures.
Elementary colleges in Serbia cater for kids 7-15 years outdated.
Police have stated that {the teenager} known as them after the taking pictures and calmly stated what he had executed. He has been held in a specialised establishment for the reason that taking pictures and testified at his dad and mom’ trial. The proceedings had been closed to the general public aside from the studying of the verdicts.
Additionally convicted and sentenced to fifteen months in jail for a false testimony was a taking pictures teacher who labored at a taking pictures floor the place the boy practiced taking pictures.
The varsity taking pictures was adopted the subsequent day by one other mass killing in villages outdoors the capital. Uros Blazic, 21, took an computerized rifle and opened fire at a number of areas, killing 9 individuals and wounding 12. He was sentenced earlier this month to twenty years in jail.
The back-to-back shootings triggered a wave of street protests and a crackdown on widespread unlawful gun possession.
Copyright 2024 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
