The boy’s father received 14 years and six months in prison for child neglect and endangering public safety, while his mother was sentenced to three years for neglect.
ADVERTISEMENT
A court in Serbia on Monday convicted the parents of a 13-year-old boy who fatally shot nine students and a school guard at a primary school in central Belgrade last year.
The Higher Court in Belgrade sentenced the boy’s father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, to 14 years and six months in prison for “grave acts against public safety” and child neglect.
His mother, Miljana Kecmanovic, received a three-year prison sentence for child neglect but was acquitted of charges related to the illegal possession of weapons.
The shooter, Kosta Kecmanovic, was too young to face trial under Serbian law.
Authorities detained his parents shortly after the massacre, accusing them of failing to secure their firearms, which the boy used to carry out the attack.
The shooting occurred on 3 May 2023 at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade, shocking the nation, which had never experienced a mass school shooting.
The boy reportedly entered the school armed with his father’s guns, opened fire in the hallway, and then moved to a classroom where he continued shooting.
The couple’s lawyer, Irina Borovic, said the verdict was unsurprising “because public pressure was enormous and the expectations were huge”. However, she stated that she will appeal the verdicts.
Despite the outcome, some of the victims’ families remain dissatisfied. Ninela Radicevic, who lost her daughter in the attack, said: “We are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children.”
Police revealed that the teenager himself called them after the incident, calmly explaining his actions. He has been held in a specialised institution since the shooting and testified during his parents' trial, which was closed to the public except for the reading of the verdict.
A shooting instructor who worked at a range where the boy practised shooting was also convicted of giving false testimony and sentenced to 15 months in prison.
The tragedy was followed by another mass shooting the next day near Belgrade, in which 21-year-old Uroš Blažić used an automatic rifle to kill nine people and injure 12 others. Earlier this month, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
These back-to-back shootings prompted widespread street protests and a national crackdown on illegal gun ownership in Serbia.