[4][5] In 2021, with an estimated 39 privately owned guns per 100 people, Serbia was the third-ranked country globally in this statistic, behind the United States and Yemen.
Vladislav Ribnikar Model Elementary School [sr] (Serbian Cyrillic: Огледна основна школа "Владислав Рибникар", romanized: Ogledna osnovna škola "Vladislav Ribnikar")[note 2] is a public elementary school in Vračar, an affluent urban area and municipality of Belgrade.
Upon entering the classroom, Kecmanović shot at the history teacher and then fired at numerous people, killing another seven, six of whom were girls; another five students were wounded.
[47] The critically injured girl, Angelina Aćimović, died of her wounds on 15 May despite urgent surgical intervention and intensive treatment measures, becoming the tenth victim in the shooting.
[49] 52-year-old history teacher Tatjana Stevanović, who was shot three times, underwent several surgeries at the Clinical Centre of Serbia in Belgrade.
[55][note 4] According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kecmanović had been planning the event for a month, selecting specific classrooms to target first and compiling a list of students to prioritize in shooting.
[64][65] The judgment to keep the minor in the mental health institution is subject to periodic revision – conditionally pending parental consent (not as a strict requirement).
[69][70] Kecmanović asked the staff of the psychiatric clinic where he is detained to give him a phone in order to communicate with his close online friend Luka Lekić.
[76] Both parents were arrested shortly after the shooting;[28] the father was detained[52][77] and was questioned at a hearing on 5 May at the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.
[29] According to the prosecutors, he trained his son in the handling of firearms by taking him to a shooting range, which is an activity "clearly not appropriate for his age", and he kept the guns in an improperly secured locker.
[82][83] As of October, the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Belgrade did not submit the ballistics medical expertise, which is crucial for making a decision on indictment against the father.
[85][86] During her testimony, the mother provided a detailed account of Kecmanović's upbringing, his physical well-being, his interactions with peers, and their familial dynamics.
Initially, she informed the authorities that she believed her son had been injured in the incident and promptly rushed to the school, where she subsequently learned the truth.
[91] On 24 June, the police detained the mother at the Prohor Pčinjski border crossing adjoining North Macedonia when she tried to leave the country with her daughter.
[115] Kecmanović also said that he played the tactical shooter video game Valorant and got the idea when he watched a documentary film in which mass murder was mentioned.
[129] President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić addressed the public about the shooting later in the day, saying that he would propose new gun measures to the government, as well as lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12.
[132] At a press conference, Education Minister Branko Ružić announced three national days of mourning starting from 5 May and a suspension of classes for the rest of the day, while Health Minister Danica Grujičić announced that the Institute of Mental Health would activate two telephone counselling helplines and increase access to in-person counselling, for those who feel the need for psychological support.
[139] A team of psychotherapists from Norway, who dealt with the trauma suffered by their citizens after the terror attacks committed by Anders Behring Breivik in 2011, will come to Serbia to help due to their similar experience.
A questionnaire made by the Norwegian psychotherapists for assessing the degree of traumatic experience will be presented at the Ribnikar school.
[158] In August, the Kecmanović's mother, according to Blic, addressed the institutions with a request to resolve the issue of further education of her two children, him and his younger sister, from 1 September.
[174] The protestors met in front of the country's parliament before marching in silence through the streets near Serbian government offices to demanded the resignation of Vulin, Gašić, Ružić, and the Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media [sr], as well as cancelling programmes that promote violence and shutting down media and tabloids that publish false news and violate the Journalistic Code.
[180] The second protest was held on 12 May; it began in front of the National Assembly of Serbia building while the demonstrators continued walking to the Gazela Bridge, and it ended at Sava Centar.
From 3 May to 7 July, criminal charges were filed against 82 students over 14 years old for endangering safety and spreading panic and disorder through social networks.
[203][204] The Serbian writer Vladimir Kecmanović [sr] found himself the target of attacks on social media after speculations emerged that his book Kad đavoli polete (transl.
[205][206][207][208] In July 2023, T-shirts with the redacted shooter's face were advertised and sold on a well-known online shopping platform based in Morocco.
[213][214] At the press conference, Ružić said, "A cancerous, pernicious influence of Internet video games, so-called Western values, is evident".
[215] Opposition parties called for his resignation due to the statement, including the Youth Initiative for Human Rights and the Independent Union of Educators of Serbia, which announced that it would suspend work in all schools from 4 May.
[219][220] Former education minister Srđan Verbić expressed his opposition to the dismissal of Ružić but said that "it would be good for the whole situation if he offered his resignation as a personal act".
[223] On 4 May, KK Partizan wore the full black uniform in the EuroLeague Playoff Game 4 in Belgrade, honouring the victims of the shooting.
[224] After his team won the Croatian Volleyball League for the 2022–23 season, the head coach of Mladost Zagreb, Ratko Peris, dedicated the title to Dragan Kobiljski's daughter killed in the shooting.