Two children remain in critical condition after Serbian school shooting as country grapples with gun control issue

Two children remain in a critical condition in hospital after a shooting at a school in Serbia in which nine people were killed.

The country’s first mass school shooting has prompted the government to announce tougher rules on gun ownership and to declare three days of national mourning from Friday.

Eight children and a security guard were killed after a 13-year-old boy opened fire at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school using two handguns he had taken from his father.

A teacher and six pupils were wounded – they are all being treated in the city’s Tirsova hospital and university hospital.

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Sinisa Ducic, the acting director at Tirsova hospital, said a girl had urgent surgery yesterday after being shot in the head and that she “remains in critical condition and in intensive care”.

Milika Asanin, director of the university hospital, said that the condition of a boy with severe spinal injuries has improved but he is also still in a critical state, according to Tanjug news agency.

The other victims are all in a stable condition.

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has announced a moratorium on new gun licences except those for hunting, and a review of existing permits, with more surveillance of shooting ranges and of how people store their weapons.

Charges for those who don’t secure weapons properly

The Serbian interior ministry warned gun owners to keep their weapons unloaded and locked up – those who do not will have their weapons confiscated and will face criminal charges.

Serbians responded to the shooting with protests – teachers warned of a crisis in schools and said they would take action to demand changes, while students and their parents protested in front of the education ministry calling for resignations.

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‘A psychopath who needs to calm down’

The 13-year-old suspected gunman is under Serbia’s age of criminal responsibility and has been undergoing psychiatric evaluation, Mr Vucic said.

Tanjug news agency reported on Thursday that tests showed the suspect had not been under the influence of any psychoactive substances at the time of the shooting.

His parents have also been arrested, with his father V.K. facing charges of aggravated endangering of public safety, according to lawyer Irina Borovic.

Police have said the boy – named as K.K. due to his age – planned the attack for a month, even drawing sketches of classrooms and making lists of his intended victims.

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He killed the security guard and three students in the school hallway first, before moving to a history class, where he shot the teacher and more students.

He unloaded the gun outside and called police – although they had already been alerted by a school official.

Kecmanovic told police over the phone that he was a “psychopath who needs to calm down”, officers said, adding that he has not offered any motive for his actions.

Awash with weapons left over from wars of 1990s

Guns have a big part in Serbian culture – the country has many weapons left behind after the wars of the 1990s and guns are often fired into the air at celebrations.

According to World Population Review, Serbia has the fifth-equal-highest rate of civilian gun ownership per 100 people.

But mass shootings are very rare – the last one was in 2013 when a war veteran killed 13 people.

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