The parents of a teenager who killed nine children and a security guard in a mass shooting at a school in Serbia last year have been jailed.
c the attack in may 2023then the 13-year-old killed nine children and a security guard at Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School in Belgrade.
The boy's father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, was sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison on Monday, and his mother, Miljana Kecmanovic, received a three-year sentence.
One year and three months was given to Nemanja Marinković, an instructor at the Partizan shooting club who taught the boy how to handle weapons.
The boy, who was placed in a psychiatric hospital after the attack, cannot be brought before the court because he is under criminal responsibility.
However, his parents were charged with a “felony against the public safety” for failing to properly secure the weapons and ammunition. They denied the allegations.
Their trial was held behind closed doors.
At the High Court in Belgrade on Monday, Vladimir was found guilty of endangering public safety by teaching his son to shoot and failing to secure his gun. He was also convicted of neglecting a minor.
Miliana was found guilty of neglect of a minor, but acquitted of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
The boy, identified only as KK, was brought to court in October with a special escort, leaving psychiatric care for the first time since the attack at Vladislav Rybnikar Elementary School.
He was questioned as a witness by a judge, prosecutor and defense and lawyers for the families of the dead and injured. He also answered questions from the mother of a murdered child.
Parents of the murdered children were present at the meeting, hoping to shed light on the motives behind the mass shooting of the boy.
A lawyer representing the families described it as “one of the most harrowing trials I have witnessed in my career”.
Eight of the nine children killed by KK were girls.
Serbia was plunged into further grief less than 48 hours later when another eight people were shot dead by a 21-year-old man in a village outside the capital.
After his testimony at his parents' trial, the family's attorney told reporters that the boy had lived a normal life before the shooting and no trial would be able to determine what led to his attack.