Serbia recovers thousands of weapons after two consecutive shootings

The Serbian government has confiscated more than 9,000 guns, both legal and illegal, in a special amnesty program following two consecutive shootings.

"This is a huge step forward in our efforts to create a safer environment for our children and all our people," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a press conference on May 12.

The number of weapons confiscated by the Serbian government in the past week, including both legally and illegally owned weapons, reached more than 9,000 as of May 12. Mr. Vucic emphasized the goal of "almost complete disarmament" in Serbian society.

According to statistics from the Serbian Ministry of Interior a day ago, the government received nearly 6,000 guns without ownership registration information, more than 300,000 bullets and 470 mines and explosive devices voluntarily handed over by people.

Guns, ammunition and other weapons recovered by Serbian police in the town of Nova Varos. Photo: Serbian Interior Ministry — Guns, ammunition and other weapons recovered by Serbian police in the town of Nova Varos. Photo: *Serbian Interior Ministry*

President Vucic announced a series of gun control measures in Serbia on May 5, including a special amnesty for all cases of voluntarily surrendering illegally owned guns. The amnesty will be effective from May 8 to June 8.

Under the decision, those who surrender their weapons do not need to show identification or explain why they are in possession. Illegal gun owners can also call the police to their homes to recover their weapons without facing any legal consequences. Those who illegally possess guns but do not surrender them to the government after August 6 will face jail time.

Serbia has implemented a number of other gun control measures, including banning new gun licenses, tightening regulations on legal gun owners and shooting ranges, and increasing penalties for illegal possession of weapons.

The gun takeback program was launched by Mr. Vucic after the country experienced two consecutive shootings that killed 17 people and injured 21, most of them children.

The first shooting occurred at an elementary school in the capital Belgrade on May 3, when a seventh-grader killed nine people. Just a day later, a suspect in a car opened fire on three villages, killing eight people.

SerbianEducation Minister Branko Ruzic announced his resignation shortly after the May 3 tragedy. He said the images he witnessed of the crime scene, along with conversations with the students' relatives, "will remain imprinted on his soul for the rest of his life."

According to the 2018 Private Firearms Survey, conducted by the Swiss Institute for Advanced Study in Geneva, Serbia has one of the third highest rates of gun ownership in the world, a legacy of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

Thanh Danh (According to AP, Washington Post )

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