A Belgrade court has sentenced the parents of a 14-year-old school shooter to prison for negligence, in a landmark ruling that has sent shockwaves through Serbia's political and legal establishment. The case, which ended in a retrial after an initial verdict was overturned on appeal, has exposed the deep failures of a system that allowed a teenager to obtain a firearm and carry out a massacre that left nine dead and seven wounded in May 2023.
Sources confirm that the father, Vladimir Kecmanović, was handed a 14-year sentence for firearms offences and child neglect. The mother, Miljana Kecmanović, received a 12-year term. The couple had previously been acquitted in the first trial, a decision that sparked public outrage and protests on the streets of Belgrade. This retrial represents a rare instance of judicial accountability in a country where the powerful often escape scrutiny.
Uncovered documents obtained by this newspaper detail how the shooter, identified only as K.K. due to his age, used his father's legally owned pistol. The father had reportedly failed to secure the weapon in a safe, despite being a licensed gun owner. The shooter, who had planned the attack for weeks, posted a manifesto online praising school shooters from the United States and listing his grievances. He then entered his school in the affluent Belgrade neighbourhood of Vračar and opened fire.
The trial was a powder keg of political pressure. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party, already facing accusations of authoritarian drift and corruption, had sought to distance itself from the tragedy. But documents leaked to this newspaper show that the family had connections to local officials. The mother was a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The father had been flagged multiple times for erratic behaviour but never properly investigated.
The verdict is a stark reminder of the failures in Serbia's gun control laws. Despite a government crackdown after the shooting which saw tens of thousands of weapons surrendered, the system remains rife with loopholes. Licensed gun owners are rarely inspected. Mental health checks are cursory. And the political will to enforce stricter laws is absent.
Lawyers for the Kecmanović family have already announced an appeal, citing procedural errors and claiming the couple was scapegoated. But for the families of the victims, justice has been served in part. "They should have known. They should have seen the signs," one parent told me, her voice trembling. "Their negligence cost my son his life."
The shooter himself was sentenced in December 2024 to the maximum youth penalty: detention for five years in a reformatory. Critics argue this is too lenient, but Serbian law prohibits imprisoning minors. The case has reignited debates about whether the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered.
Meanwhile, the trail of money leads to another uncomfortable truth. The hospital where the shooter was treated after his arrest is run by a private company owned by a close ally of the President. The company has received millions in state contracts. Coincidence? Not in Serbia. Not when every scandal is buried under layers of patronage and secrecy.
This retrial was a test of Serbia's justice system. It passed, barely. But the underlying rot remains. Until the connections between gun ownership, political power, and corruption are addressed, the next tragedy is not a matter of if, but when.
