Serbian Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Mass Shooting
A Serbian court has convicted a young man who killed nine people and hurt 12 in one of two mass shootings that shocked Serbia last May. Uros Blazic, 21, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The shootings happened on May 4, 2023, when Blazic opened fire at multiple locations in two villages outside Belgrade. He randomly shot at young people who were hanging out on a spring evening. Judges said that Blazic knew what he was doing and its illegality, and showed “relentless violent behavior”.
The killings happened just a day after another mass shooting at an elementary school in central Belgrade. In that incident, a teenager used his father’s gun to kill nine fellow students and a guard. The parents of the suspect have gone on trial in Belgrade.
Blazic was arrested hours after the shootings in central Serbia. He said during his trial that he couldn’t explain why he committed such crimes. Serbian media had reported that Blazic had a history of violent outbursts before the shootings.
The gunman’s father, Radisa Blazic, was also convicted for illegal possession of guns and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The verdict was read out in front of parents and relatives of the victims, who were present in the courtroom wearing shirts with images of the victims. Many of them cried as they entered the court.
The tragedies have sparked a wave of protests in Serbia, calling for stricter gun laws.