Nine killed in Serbia school shooting, teen gunman arrested

A seventh-grade student at the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school opened fire on his teacher on Wednesday morning before starting to shoot other students and security guards, killing nine.

A statement from Serbia’s interior ministry said eight pupils and a security guard had been killed in the incident and the teacher and six other children had been hospitalised.

Milan Nedeljkovic, mayor of the central Vracar district where the school is located, said doctors were fighting to save the life of the injured teacher.

Officers in helmets and bulletproof vests rushed to the scene, cordoning off the area around the institution. Casualties are receiving treatment, while an investigation has been launched to find motives behind the shooting, police said in a statement.

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Milan Milosevic, the father of one of the students at the school, rushed to the scene following the news. He told broadcaster N1 the suspect first attacked the teacher and then started shooting randomly, adding his daughter managed to escape.

“They say [the shooter] was quiet and a good pupil. He recently joined their class,” he added.

Owing to its strict gun laws, mass shootings are relatively rare in Serbia. But hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons are still available in the western Balkans following conflicts in the 1990s. Authorities have already issued a number of amnesties for owners to register or hand in illegal guns.