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Serbia Arrests Suspect in Second Mass Shooting in 2 Days


A woman lights candles in front of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox temple in Belgrade, Serbia, May 4, 2023.
A woman lights candles in front of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox temple in Belgrade, Serbia, May 4, 2023.

Serbian police said Friday they had arrested a suspect in the second mass shooting case in two days in Serbia.

The man arrested Friday is a suspect in Thursday’s shootings that ended with the death of eight people and the wounding of 14 in a village near Belgrade.

Thursday’s shooting came a day after a 13-year-old boy allegedly opened fire in a school in Belgrade, killing nine and wounding 7.

The arrest Friday of a suspect in Thursday’s shooting came after hundreds of police officers searched all night for the gunman who shot randomly in three villages near Mladenovac. He was arrested near the city of Kragujevac

On Wednesday, the 13-year-old boy turned himself after allegedly using his father’s gun to kill eight of his fellow students and a security guard at his school in Belgrade.

Officials say the teenager is too young to charge. The Associated Press reports that the boy has been placed in a mental institution.

The boy’s father, however, has been detained in the case, on suspicion that he endangered public safety because his son was able to get hold of the weapons, officials said.

After the school shootings, the government introduced new gun control measures, including a two-year ban on issuing new gun permits.

Wednesday’s shooting was Serbia’s first mass shooting in 10 years.

After Wednesday's shootings, Serbia announced three days of national mourning to begin Friday.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.

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