The parents of a boy who killed nine children and a security guard in a mass shooting at a school in Serbia last year have been jailed.
In May 2023 attackwho was 13 at the time killed 9 children and a security guard at the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade.
The boy’s father, Vladimir Kecmanoviæ, was sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison on Monday, while his mother, Miljana Kecmanoviæ, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Nemanja Marinkovic, the coach of the Partizan shooting team who taught the boy how to use a gun, received a sentence of one year and three months.
The boy, who has been detained in a mental institution since the attack, cannot appear in court because he is under the age of culpability.
However, his parents were accused of “a serious act against public safety” for failing to properly secure weapons and ammunition. They denied the charges.
Their case is closed behind closed doors.
In Belgrade’s main court on Monday, Vladimir was found guilty of endangering public safety by teaching his son to shoot and failing to secure his gun. He was also convicted of child neglect.
Miljana was found guilty of neglecting a small child but was acquitted of the charge of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
The boy, named KK, was brought to court in October under a special escort, leaving a psychiatric hospital for the first time since the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school was attacked.
He was questioned as a witness by the judge, the prosecutor and the lawyer as well as the lawyers of the families of the dead and injured. He also answered the questions of the mother of the murdered child.
The parents of the murdered children attended the trial in the hope that they will shed light on the reason for the shooting of this boy.
A lawyer representing the families described it as “one of the most difficult cases I have seen in my career”.
Eight of KK’s nine children were girls.
Serbia was plunged into tragedy less than 48 hours later, when eight more people were shot dead by a 21-year-old man on the outskirts of the capital.
After his testimony during his parents’ trial, the family’s lawyer told reporters that the boy had been leading a normal life before he was shot and that no court system would be able to determine what led to his attack.
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