(OSV News) ─ Archbishop Ladislav Nemet of Belgrade,
Serbia, told OSV News that "no child should be a victim of violence,"
following a school shooting in that city that left eight children and one
security guard dead, with six students and a teacher injured.
On May 3, a 13-year-old male student at the
Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School opened fire on his classmates, armed with
two guns owned by his father, as well as two pistols and four Molotov cocktails
that were later found in his bag.
The shooter, Kosta Kecmanovic, called police after
the attack, telling them what he had done and saying "he is a psychopath
who needs to calm down," senior police official Veselin Milic told media
the day of the shooting, adding that Kecmanovic said he "was caught by
fear and panic and funny breathing" following the killings.
Authorities also discovered sketches of classrooms
and a list of intended targets Kecmanovic had created prior to the attack.
All but one of the dead were girls, one of whom
held French citizenship, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire
Legendre told media, without providing details.
Kecmanovic, who is too young to be criminally
charged under Serbia's legal code, will be placed in a psychiatric institution,
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told media. He described the day as
"one of the toughest … in Serbia's modern history."
The teen's father has been arrested, along with
Kecmanovic's mother.
Serbia will observe a three-day period of mourning
beginning May 5, authorities said.
No motive has been provided for the attack, which
has stunned a nation with high levels of gun ownership -- 39 per 100 persons,
according to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey research firm -- but few mass
shootings. The last such attacks occurred in two separate villages in 2013 and
2007.
Thousands gathered outside the elementary school
to leave flowers, candles, teddy bears and other tokens in honor of the
victims. The majority of mourners were reported to be students from other
Belgrade schools.
Children and teens should experience school as
"a safe and stimulating place for learning and development," said
Archbishop Nemet in a May 4 email to OSV News.
The tragedy "calls us all to the importance
of radical measures in the prevention of violence in schools and among
children," he said.
Masses throughout the archdiocese were offered for
the victims, the archbishop added.
"May the Lord grant peace to the innocent
souls, murdered students and security workers in the hope of a blessed
resurrection, and to all families, relatives and friends, strength and comfort
in these difficult times," he said.
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Gina Christian is a national reporter for OSV
News. Follow her on Twitter at @GinaJesseReina.
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