“Serbian Education Minister Resigns after School Shootings; Stricter Gun Laws and Weapon Surrender Deadline Set”

Serbian Education Minister Branko Ruzic has resigned over the recent shootings in the country. On Wednesday, an attack on a primary school in Belgrade shocked the Serbian population. A 13-year-old student at the school killed eight children and a security guard. A day later, another eight people were killed and 14 injured in a second shooting following an argument in a village schoolyard.

Ruzic says he wants to take his responsibility and calls his resignation a rational decision. After the massacres, opposition parties strongly criticized the government for failing to prevent the shootings. Among other things, they demanded Ruzic’s resignation and called on their supporters to demonstrate.

After the two shootings, Serbian President Vučić announced a stricter approach to gun ownership. He also wants a police officer to be present at every school from now on.

People who own weapons illegally can hand them in without risk of punishment until June 8. Anyone caught illegally possessing a weapon could face years of imprisonment. Millions of bullets are expected to be surrendered, Vučić said in a speech today.

Vučić also spat his bile at the opposition’s calls to demonstrate against the government’s approach. According to him, this does not happen anywhere in the world and it is bad for the country.

Despite strict gun laws, there are still many guns in Serbia due to the wars of the 1990s. The country has one of the highest rates of registered guns per person. The last mass shooting was ten years ago, when a veteran shot thirteen people.