A court in Serbia on Monday convicted the parents of a teenage boy who last year shot to death nine pupils and a school guard and wounded six more people in a school in central Belgrade. The Higher Court in Belgrade sentenced Vladimir Kecmanovic, the father, to 14 years, six months in prison for "grave acts against public safety" and for child neglect. The killer's mother, Miljana Kecmanovic, was sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect. She was acquitted on charges of illegal possession of weapons, the AP reports.
The shooter, identified as Kosta Kecmanovic, was 13 years old when he committed the crime and therefore too young to face a trial, according to Serbian law. His parents were detained soon after the shooting and charged for failing to keep the weapons out of reach of their son. The massacre at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade on May 3, 2023, shocked the Balkan nation, where a mass school shooting had never happened. The couple's lawyer, Irina Borovic, said the verdict came as no surprise "because public pressure was enormous and the expectations were huge." Borovic said she will appeal the verdicts, per the AP.
Ninela Radicevic, whose daughter was killed, said, "We are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children" and the school guard. The boy used his father's guns to open fire on his fellow pupils and others. He walked into the school and first opened fire in the hall before heading into a classroom where he continued shooting. Elementary schools in Serbia serve children 7 to 15 years old. Police have said the teenager called them after the shooting and calmly said what he had done. He has been held in a specialized institution since the shooting and testified at his parents' trial. Also convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for false testimony was an instructor who worked at a shooting range where the boy practiced.
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