Girl wounded in Serbia shooting is in critical condition, state TV says

[May 06, 2023]  BELGRADE (Reuters) -A girl shot in the head in a school shooting in Serbia in which eight pupils and a guard were killed is still in critical condition, while two boys who were being treated in the same hospital have been released, RTS state TV reported on Saturday.

The country is in shock and mourning after two mass shootings: the school massacre in Belgrade on Wednesday, and a rampage outside the city on Thursday in which another eight people were killed. Suspects in both incidents are in custody.

Burials were being held on Saturday for four of the pupils and the guard killed in the school shooting and five young men killed in the second rampage.

"When you hear that it happens in Russia or America you do not feel comfortable, not to mention (when something happens) here where you know them all," Jovica Markovic from the village of Malo Orasje, where the funeral of the five young men will be held, told Reuters.

"We are all related, we all know each other... and they are all young," said Markovic, whose cousin lost a grandson in the second shooting.

Following the shootings, the government introduced a set of measures aimed at preventing violence in schools and reducing the number of weapons held by civilians.

Despite strong gun controls, Serbia and the rest of the Western Balkans are awash with military-grade weapons and ordnance that stayed in private hands after the 1990s wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia.

Opposition parties, who blame the government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic for failing to prevent the two shootings, called on supporters to join an anti-government march on Sunday evening in Belgrade.

The Tanjug news agency cited a police statement as saying a minor was detained in Belgrade for making fun of the school shooting on her TikTok profile and praising the suspected shooter.

People light up candles to pay tribute for victims of Belgrade school mass shooting in Podgorica, Montenegro, May 5, 2023. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic

Serbia is holding three days of mourning, with flags at half mast and no entertainment programmes on television.

Flowers were laid and candles lit for the third consecutive day on Saturday in front of the Vladislav Ribnikar school in Belgrade. People lined up on Saturday to sign a book of condolence at the school.

Vigils have been held in other parts of Serbia, including the central town of Cacao and Novi Sad in the north.

In countries throughout the region - Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia - people have also paid their respects, lighting candles in main squares.

Bosnia and Montenegro are also holding days of mourning on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

The suspect in the school shooting is a 13-year-old boy who police said surrendered on Wednesday after taking two of his father's handguns to carry out the shooting.

The suspect in the rampage outside the capital is a young man who authorities said was wearing a T-shirt with neo-Nazi symbols. He was arrested after being caught hiding at his grandfather's house.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Additional reporting by Fedja Grulovic; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson)

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