Shocked mourners mount vigil for Belgrade shooting victims

Record ID: 1723207

  • Title: Shocked mourners mount vigil for Belgrade shooting victims
  • Date: 4th May 2023
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (MAY 4, 2023) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CROWD AT VIGIL NEAR SITE OF SCHOOL SHOOTING MAN HOLDING FLOWERS MAN HOLDING SIGN READING (Serbian): "RESIGNATIONS NOW" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LAYING FLOWERS, LIGHTING CANDLES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT VIGIL YOUNG MAN KNEELING, LIGHTING CANDLES VARIOUS OF MOURNERS WITH FLOWERS (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) BELGRADE RESIDENT, MARIJA JOVANOVI
  • Embargoed: 18th May 2023 14:16
  • Keywords: Serbia belgrade gun violence guns school shooting shooting
  • Location: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • City: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • Country: Serbia
  • Topics: Europe,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001001004052023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Shocked Serbians mourned the nine victims of their nation's first mass school shooting on Thursday (May 4) while teachers demanded better security and two wounded pupils fought for their lives. 
    Hundreds of schoolchildren and adults carrying candles and flowers mounted a vigil on Thursday evening in streets around the school, while churches planned memorial prayers. 
    "Unfortunately this happened because we turn our heads and no one cares about anyone else," said vigil attendee Marija Jovanovic.
    "We were aware that our society is capable of such events, but the possibility of such an escalation among elementary school children was unforeseen," said another vigil attendee, Branislav Grubaci.
        The suspected shooter, a 13-year-old boy, surrendered on Wednesday (May 3), police said, after taking two of his father's handguns to kill eight pupils and a security guard in a hallway and history class at their school in the capital Belgrade. 
        A teacher and six pupils were also wounded in the shooting, with two still in critical condition. 
    Mass shootings in Serbia are rare, and this was the first-ever school shooting in the Balkan country, prompting the government to announce tougher curbs on gun ownership and to declare three days of national mourning from Friday (May 5).
    (Production Fedja Grulovic, Milan Pavicic, Hedy Beloucif)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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