A teenager launched a shooting on Wednesday morning at a primary school in central Belgrade, killing at least nine people, including eight children, Serbian police said.
Police received a phone call about a shooting at the Vladislav Ribnikar school around 8:40 a.m. local time (7:40 a.m. in Lisbon), authorities said in a statement.
The suspect, a seventh grade elementary school student, was taken into custody, police said.
The statement added that the teen apparently fired multiple shots, from a parent’s gun, at other students and at school security.
Serbian media reported that the guard was killed in the shooting. Police did not provide further details about the case.
According to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, several terrified parents came to the school looking for their children.
Local media footage showed the commotion outside the school as police removed the suspect from the scene.
Mass shootings in Serbia are extremely rare. Experts, however, have repeatedly warned about the amount of weapons left in the country after the wars of the 1990s.
The police cordoned off the blocks around the Vladislav Ribnikar school, which is located in the center of Belgrade. Basic education in Serbia comprises eight years of schooling.
*News updated at 10:51 am
Source: TSF
