Belgrade, May 5 (EFE).- A 21-year-old man was arrested Friday after he allegedly shot and killed at least eight people and wounded 14 others the night before near Mladenovac, 60 km from the Serbian capital Belgrade, the second mass shooting in the country this week.
President Aleksandar Vucic described the incident as a “terrorist attack”.
The alleged assailant’s motives remain unknown.
He reportedly got out of a car in which he was traveling alone and opened fire, with Serbian media reporting he is the son of a soldier.
He was apprehended after a large police operation in which he exchanged fire with officers.
Two of those wounded in the attack, which was reportedly committed using illegal automatic weapons, are in serious condition and their lives are in danger.
The shooting comes just two days after a separate incident in Belgrade in which a 13-year-old killed eight pupils and a security guard at a primary school, injuring a teacher and six students.
In the wake of the slayings, Serbian authorities have announced they will urgently implement measures to limit the number of weapons in the hands of private individuals and increase punishments for those found with illegal arms.
In Serbia, a country of 6.8 million people, there are about 760,000 weapons in the hands of about 400,000 people, one of the highest ratios of gun ownership in the world, President Vucic said.
The president said all gun owners, including hunters, would be subject to different semi-annual and annual tests, which will also include psychiatric, medical and psychological examinations. EFE
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