BELGRADE, Serbia – A Serbian court handed down severe prison sentences to the parents of a teenager who launched a deadly attack at a Belgrade school last year, killing nine of his peers and a school guard while injuring six others. The tragic event marked Serbia’s first mass school shooting, stirring national outrage and prompting calls for stricter gun control measures.
On Monday, the Higher Court in Belgrade found Vladimir Kecmanovic guilty of “grave acts against public safety” and neglecting his parental duties, sentencing him to 14 years and six months in prison. His wife, Miljana Kecmanovic, received a three-year sentence for child neglect. However, she was cleared of charges related to illegal weapon possession.
The tragic incident occurred on May 3, 2023, at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school located in the heart of the Serbian capital. Kosta Kecmanovic, then a 13-year-old student who perpetrated the attack using his father’s firearms, was deemed too young to be tried under Serbian law. His parents were arrested shortly after the incident, accused of failing to secure the weapons that facilitated their son’s violent spree.
According to reports, Kosta entered the school premises and proceeded to fire in a hallway and subsequently a classroom, targeting fellow students and staff. Following the killings, the young perpetrator contacted the police and stoically confessed to the shootings. Since then, he has been detained in a specialized juvenile facility and participated in the legal proceedings against his parents, though the trial was largely closed to the public.
Irina Borovic, the defense attorney representing the Kecmanovic family, expressed her intent to appeal the verdicts, citing that the outcome had been influenced by significant public pressure and heightened societal expectations following the unprecedented tragedy.
The community reaction was a mixture of sorrow and frustration. Ninela Radicevic, a parent who lost her daughter in the shooting, voiced dissatisfaction with the legal outcome, lamenting that no one was directly held accountable for the ghastly act that took nine young lives and a school guard.
Additionally, the incident involving Kosta Kecmanovic appeared to set off a violent chain reaction in the region. The day following the school shooting, another unrelated attack occurred when 21-year-old Uros Blazic carried out a rampaging shooting spree across several villages outside Belgrade, claiming nine more lives and wounding 12 others. Earlier this month, Blazic was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Compounding the issue was the conviction of a shooting instructor, who received a 15-month prison term for providing false testimony related to the case. It was revealed during the trials that he had been responsible for overseeing the shooting range where young Kosta practiced firearm use.
In the wake of these back-to-back massacres, Serbia has witnessed an upsurge in public demonstrations against rampant gun violence and illegal firearms possession, spurring authorities to initiate a crackdown in an effort to prevent such incidents in the future.
The cases have thrust the issue of gun safety and child access to firearms into the spotlight in Serbia, prompting discussions on potential legislative reforms to address the underlying problems that led to such a devastating loss of life.