Serbia is in shock over the massacre in a primary school in Belgrade, where a pupil of the institute who was not yet 14 years old opened fire with his father’s pistol, killing eight very young pupils of his age and a security guard on the spot, and wounding six others boys and a teacher. The tragedy took place on the day lessons resumed after the long bank holiday of May 1st, which in Serbia traditionally includes the second of the month as a non-working day. Kosta K., the perpetrator of the slaughter, was arrested shortly after by the police in the courtyard of the Vladislav Ribnikar school, in the residential district of Vracar, in the heart of Belgrade. After the massacre, he himself had called the police who had already been alerted a few minutes earlier by a school manager, informing her that he had shot numerous people – as the police chief of the capital Veselin Milic reported at a press conference.
Aid after the massacre in the Belgrade school
However, the boy did not mention the reasons for his action. The pupils killed, seven girls and one boy, were all between the ages of 12 and 14. Initial investigations revealed that Kosta K. had been planning the massacre for at least a month, was in possession of a map of the school and a list of pupils to be killed. Chilling details if we consider that Kosta K., coming from a wealthy family, had always been considered a diligent, educated and ambitious boy, passionate about astrophysics and sports, with a predilection for karate and basketball. Having not yet turned 14, the young multiple murderer, according to Serbian law, is not criminally liable. His lawyer said that after the police questioning in the presence of his parents he could be released and sent home. But Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced in the evening that the mass murderer will be transferred to a special department of a psychiatric clinic. Some media reported that Kosta K. had long been the target of mistreatment and bullying, others that at the time of the massacre he was under the influence of drugs. But there is no certainty about the real reasons that triggered his murderous rage. During the day, the boy’s 48-year-old father, owner of the gun with which his son fired, was also arrested. According to media reports, he apparently used to take the boy with him to the shooting range. The man, a radiologist, would have said that he had kept the weapons locked in a safe with a secret code, of which however his son was evidently aware. The boy’s mother, a lawyer, was also detained. According to the Belgrade police chief, the perpetrator of the massacre arrived at the school shortly after 8.30 with a bag containing a nine-caliber pistol, another small-caliber weapon and four Molotov cocktails. A few minutes later he began shooting wildly, first killing the security guard who had thrown himself at him trying to immobilize him, a gesture – the investigators point out – which would have avoided an even more serious death toll. He then indiscriminately fired on pupils and teachers. The government in Belgrade proclaimed three days of national mourning, from 5 to 7 May. Education Minister Branko Ruzic announced that lessons, canceled today, will resume tomorrow with a minute’s silence in all schools across the country. “Today was the worst tragedy that hit Serbia and our education system in recent history,” he commented bitterly.
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