4 May 2023 Serbia shootings

4 May 2023 Serbia shootings
LocationDubona and Malo Orašje, Serbia
Date4 May 2023
Attack type
Drive-by shooting, mass murder, spree shooting
WeaponSemi-automatic rifle
Deaths9
Injured
14
AccusedUroš Blažić

On the evening of the 4 May 2023, eight people were killed in a drive-by shooting in Dubona and Šepšin, Serbia. Fourteen people were injured. The suspect is 21-year-old Serbian man Uroš Blažić.[1][2]

Police found four bombs, a flare gun, a submachine gun, two silencers, a hunter's knife and ammunition in the house of the suspect's grandfather.[3]

Background

Serbian gun laws are strict however Serbia also has one of the world's highest gun ownership rates per person and the highest in Europe.[4] In 2021, it was estimated that there was 39 owned guns every 100 people, Serbia was ranked third on this statistic, only behind the United States and Yemen.[5] Along with a culture of gun ownership and many houses keeping war trophies, illegal weapons became widespread in certain countries in the Balkans following the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s.[5]

Mass shootings are rare in Serbia and the rest of the Balkans. In the 21st century there were previously four mass shootings: the Jabukovac killings in which nine people were killed, the 2013 Velika Ivanča shooting in which 14 people were killed, the 2016 Žitište shooting in which five people were killed[6] and the Belgrade school shooting that happened the day before, in which nine people were killed, leading the government to propose stricter gun laws.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "KATAKLIZMA U MLADENOVCU: 8 mrtvih, 13 ranjenih, potera za ubicom i dalje traje, policija blokirala okolna sela!". Blic (in Serbian). 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Paunović, Jelena (5 May 2023). "Detalji hapšenja Uroša posle masakra kod Mladenovca: Sakrivao se u kući kod rođaka". Telegraf (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Prve fotografije MUP-a: U vikendici kod Mladenovca nađena velika količina oružja". N1 (in Serbian). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Belgrade school shooting: boy kills 9 in planned attack | Reuters". web.archive.org. 2023-05-03. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 ""Balkanski mentalitet": Srbija u vrhu po broju oružja na 100 stanovnika". www.021.rs (in Serbian). 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  6. ↑ "Security guard killed in Serbia elementary school shooting - BBC News". web.archive.org. 2023-05-03. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Suspect arrested after second mass shooting in Serbia". BBC News. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-05-10.