Teen who shot dead nine at Serbian school had list of students to 'liquidate'

A teenager who opened hearth at his college in central Belgrade, Serbia, drew sketches of lecture rooms and wrote a listing of individuals he meant to focus on, police say.

He killed eight fellow college students and a college guard on Wednesday earlier than being arrested.

A father of a scholar on the college in central Belgrade stated the shooter entered his daughter’s classroom, firing at her trainer after which her classmates as they ducked beneath their desks.

A person cries on the entrance of a hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Milos Miskov) (AP)

Most college students had been capable of flee by way of a again door, based on a neighborhood official.

Senior police official Veselin Milic stated the shooter drew sketches of lecture rooms and wrote a listing of youngsters he deliberate to “liquidate” in an assault he deliberate for a month.

Milic stated Kosta Kecmanovic referred to as police himself when the assault was over.

Earlier, police stated Kecmanovic was a scholar on the Vladislav Ribnikar college and was born in 2009. They stated he used his father’s gun.

Six extra youngsters and a trainer had been additionally hospitalised within the assault.

Local media footage confirmed a commotion as police eliminated Kecmanovic, whose head was lined as officers led him to a automotive.

A suspect is escorted by police outdoors the Vladislav Ribnikar college in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo) (AP)

Police sealed off the blocks round Vladislav Ribnikar, which is what’s identified domestically as a major college, whose college students would sometimes vary in age from six to fifteen. Authorities later carried physique baggage to a ready van.

Mass shootings are extraordinarily uncommon in Serbia and within the wider Balkan area; none had been reported at faculties in recent times. In the final mass capturing, a Balkan conflict veteran in 2013 killed 13 folks in a central Serbian village.

Experts, nonetheless, have repeatedly warned of the hazard posed by the big variety of weapons within the nation after the wars of the Nineties.

They additionally observe that a long time of instability stemming from the conflicts in addition to the continued financial hardship may set off such outbursts.

Women have a look at the display screen of a cell phone in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Milos Miskov) (AP)

Police stated they acquired a name in regards to the capturing at about 8.40am (4.40pm AEST) on the primary day courses resumed after a protracted weekend for the May 1 vacation.

“I was able to hear the shooting. It was nonstop,” stated a scholar who was in a sports activities class when gunfire erupted elsewhere within the constructing.

Her mom requested that her identify be withheld due to her age.

“I didn’t know what was happening. We were receiving some messages on the phone,” the coed stated.

She described the suspect as a “quiet guy” who had good grades.

Children wait in entrance of the Vladislav Ribnikar college after capturing in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (AP)

“He was not so open with everybody. Surely I wasn’t expecting this to happen,” she stated.

Milan Nedeljkovic, the mayor of the Belgrade space of Vracar, the place the capturing occurred, stated a lot of the college students had been taken out a again door of the college.

“We have video surveillance, but now this is a lesson, we need metal detectors too,” he stated.

“It is a huge tragedy … something like this (happening) in Belgrade. Such a tragedy at an elementary school.”

People wait in entrance of the Vladislav Ribnikar college after capturing in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (AP)

Four college students and a trainer had been despatched to University hospital, based on the hospital’s director, who stated one baby and the trainer had been in severe situation.

Milan Milosevic, who stated his daughter was in a historical past class when the capturing passed off, instructed N1 tv that he rushed to the college when he heard what had occurred.