A Belgrade court has sentenced the parents of a 13-year-old who carried out a mass shooting at his school to more than a decade in prison. The verdict, delivered late Tuesday, marks the first time parents have been held criminally liable for a child’s school massacre in Europe. Now, a coalition of British child psychologists is demanding a global pact to prevent such tragedies.
The shooter, identified only as K.K., killed nine fellow students and a security guard at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in May 2023. Authorities uncovered that his father, Vladimir K., had kept a lawful arsenal of firearms in their home, including the gun used in the attack. The father received a 12-year sentence for causing public danger, illegal possession of weapons, and failing to secure them. The mother, Milica K., was given 10 years for neglecting to report her son’s deteriorating mental state.
Sources close to the investigation reveal that the boy had drawn detailed plans of the attack and posted about his intentions on a gaming forum. Neither parent acted. “They knew their son was obsessed with violence, and they did nothing,” said a prosecutor who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This verdict sends a message: you cannot live in denial.”
In London, Dr. Alison Reeves, a leading child psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, has seen a troubling rise in violent ideation among primary school children. “We are dealing with a new breed of radicalisation,” she told me. “It’s not just online extremism now, it’s domestic. Parents are the first line of defence, but too many are wilfully blind.” Reeves is spearheading a petition calling for a United Nations-backed “Parental Responsibility Protocol” that would require signatory nations to impose legal duties on parents to monitor and report early warning signs.
Critics argue that such a pact would criminalise poverty and mental health issues. But Reeves insists it is about accountability. “This isn’t victim blaming. This is about the right to life. If we can have international conventions on genocide, we can have one on preventing children from becoming killers.”
Documents obtained by this newspaper show that the UK’s National Crime Agency has tracked at least 15 school shooting plots involving minors in the past three years. In each case, the parents either ignored or enabled the behaviour. One father, whose son was intercepted before a planned attack in Manchester, told police: “Boys will be boys.”
The Serbian case has galvanised the debate. A senior Home Office official, speaking off the record, confirmed the government is “looking closely” at the Belgian and Dutch models of parental liability. In Belgium, parents can face prison if their child commits a crime with a weapon they stored negligently. The Dutch have “parenting orders” that can compel compliance.
But for Milica and Vladimir K., the order came too late. Their son is now in a youth detention centre, his future shattered. As the judge read the verdict, the mother collapsed. The father stared straight ahead. Outside, a crowd shouted “Justice for the children.”
Today, the parents are being held at the same prison complex where their son’s victims are buried. The question remains: how many more warning signs must we ignore before we act?
