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Serbia’s education minister resigns following mass shootings

Published:Sunday | May 7, 2023 | 2:42 PM
A boy walks past graffiti on a playground that reads: "Kosta we are waiting for you" in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Kosta Kecmanovic is a 13-year-old boy who on Wednesday used his father's guns to kill eight fellow students and a guard. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's education minister submitted his resignation Sunday following two mass shootings, one of them at a primary school which left 17 people dead, while the European country's government urged citizens to turn in all unregistered weapons or run the risk of a prison sentence.

Education Minister Branko Ruzic is the first Serbian official to resign over the shootings despite widespread calls for more senior officials to step down in the wake of the back-to-back bloodshed on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ruzic cited the “catastrophic tragedy that has engulfed our country” in explaining his decision.

Soon after the first attack, at the school in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, Ruzic was quick to blame “the cancerous, pernicious influence of the Internet, video games, so-called Western values.”

Such criticism is common in the Blakan nation, where pro-Russian and anti-Western sentiments have thrived in recent years.

On Sunday, the Interior Ministry said individuals could hand over illegally owned weapons between Monday and June 8th without facing any charges.

Those who ignore the order will face prosecution and if convicted, potentially years behind bars, government officials have warned.

Police said the amnesty would apply to guns, grenades, ammunition and other weaponry.

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