BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian residents have handed over practically 6,000 unregistered weapons within the first three days of a month-long amnesty interval that’s a part of an anti-gun crackdown following two mass shootings final week, police mentioned Thursday.
Police even have obtained practically 300,000 rounds of ammunition and about 470 explosive units throughout the identical interval, the Serbian Inside Ministry mentioned on Instagram.
The trouble to rid Serbia of extreme weapons was launched after 17 individuals had been killed in two mass shootings final week and 21 had been wounded, lots of them youngsters. One of many shootings befell in a college for the primary time ever in Serbia.
Authorities have informed residents to surrender unregistered weapons by June 8 or face jail sentences. Different anti-gun measures embrace a ban on new gun licenses, stricter controls on gun homeowners and taking pictures ranges, and more durable punishment for the unlawful possession of weapons.
Anadolu Company through Getty Photographs
The varsity shooter was a 13-year-old boy who used his father’s gun to open fireplace on his fellow college students at an elementary faculty in central Belgrade final Wednesday, police have mentioned. A day later, a 20-year-old man opened fireplace with an automated weapon in a rural space south of the capital metropolis.
Serbia is estimated to be among the many prime nations in Europe in terms of gun possession per capita, that are partly left over from the wars within the Nineteen Nineties. On Wednesday, police arrested the daddy of the suspected village shooter for unlawful possession of weapons.
The 2 shootings have sparked requires modifications and extra tolerance in Serbia’s society. 1000’s have marched in opposition-led protests in Belgrade and different cities, demanding resignations of populist authorities ministers in addition to a ban on tv stations that air violent content material and host struggle criminals. Extra protests are deliberate on Friday.
Serbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, has accused opposition events of utilizing the tragedy for political ends. He has introduced plans for an personal rally in late Might.
Vucic, a former ultranationalist who now says he desires to take Serbia into the European Union, has confronted accusations of selling hate speech in opposition to opponents, curbing free speech with a good grip over mainstream media and taking management of all state establishments. He has denied this.