A Belgrade court has sentenced the parents of a 14-year-old boy who killed 10 people in a school shooting last year to prison terms for child neglect and illegal weapons possession. The retrial, which concluded on Wednesday, resulted in a 14-year sentence for the father and a three-year term for the mother. The case has reignited debate over gun control and parental responsibility in the Balkan nation.
The shooting, which occurred in May 2023 at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade, shocked the country and prompted the government to tighten firearms legislation. The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was found to have used his father’s legally owned handguns. Prosecutors argued that the parents failed to secure the weapons adequately and neglected their son’s deteriorating mental health.
The father, a 53-year-old doctor, was convicted of “serious acts against public safety” while the mother, a 50-year-old biochemist, was found guilty of “child neglect”. Both had denied the charges. The sentences are longer than those imposed in the initial trial in December, which were overturned on appeal.
Under Serbian law, the parents have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court. The case has drawn international attention, with human rights groups monitoring the proceedings. Serbia has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe, a legacy of the wars of the 1990s.
The government has since introduced stricter background checks and mandatory storage requirements. The school shooting also prompted widespread protests, with citizens demanding accountability from authorities. The verdict was welcomed by victims’ families, though some expressed frustration that the sentences were not harsher.
“No punishment can bring back our children,” said one parent who spoke on condition of anonymity. The teenage shooter, who was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, remains in a psychiatric facility.
