Parents of alleged school shooter in Serbia sentenced to prison

In Serbia, the parents of a teenage boy who allegedly carried out a school shooting in 2023 were convicted and sentenced in connection with the crime on Monday, Dec. 2024. Police said the boy, Kosta Kecmanovic, committed the first mass school shooting in the country’s history.

The suspected killer was 13 years old when he allegedly shot and killed nine children and a school security guard and injured six other people. He was too young to be charged for the murders under Serbian law.

Authorities said that the teen used his father’s guns to carry out the shooting on May 3, 2023.

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The Belgrade court sentenced the teen suspect’s father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, to more than 14 years in prison for “grave acts against public safety” and child neglect.

The teen’s mother, Mijana Kecmanovic, was sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect. However, she was acquitted of other charges.

Additionally, a shooting instructor at a range where Kosta Kecmanovic reportedly practiced was sentenced to 15 months in prison for false testimony during the trial.

The parents’ lawyer, Irina Borovic, argued immense public pressure led to the conviction and sentences of the couple, and she vowed to appeal the verdicts.

Ninela Radicevic, whose daughter was killed in the mass shooting, told the Associated Press that the victims’ families “are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children” and a school guard.

The teenage boy, now 14, is reportedly in a “specialized institution.”