PONTIANAK NEWS – A court in Serbia sentenced the parents of the perpetrators of the mass shooting at the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School, Belgrade, to prison, which killed 10 people in May 2023.
The perpetrator’s father, Vladimir Kecmanović, was sentenced to 14 years and 6 months in prison, while his wife, Miljana Kecmanović, was sentenced to 2 years and 11 months in prison. Both were found guilty of parental negligence and neglect of their children.
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Apart from that, Vladimir was also found guilty of storing firearms carelessly thereby endangering public safety.
The shooter was 13 years old at the time of the incident. Because his age does not meet the requirements for criminal responsibility under Serbian law, he has not been criminally prosecuted and is currently undergoing treatment in a psychiatric hospital.
In the attack that occurred on May 3 2023, the perpetrator killed seven schoolgirls, a student and a school security officer. Another female student died after undergoing treatment at the hospital. In addition, five students and a history teacher were injured.
The trial revealed that the perpetrator fired 66 shots in just two minutes and one second. The weapons used were two pistols belonging to his father which were taken without permission from a storage place.
The incident was the first school shooting in Serbia’s history and rocked the Balkan country.
Two days after the incident, a gunman opened fire again in an area near Belgrade, killing nine people. This series of events sparked massive demonstrations and prompted the government to launch a firearms amnesty program.
The husband and wife were previously tried in 2024. However, the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial in November 2025 because it considered that the previous decision was unclear and contained contradictions.
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The defendant’s legal team assessed that the allegations of negligence were not proven and there was no expert testimony indicating that their child had experienced neglect. Meanwhile, both the prosecutor and the defendant have appealed the latest decision.
