Serbian mass shooter who killed 9 gets maximum sentence of 20 years in prison

A Serbian court on Thursday convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison a young man who shot dead 9 people and injured 12 others in a series of murders last year that shook the Balkan country.

Uros Blazic, 21, fired an automatic rifle on May 4, 2023, and opened fire in several places in the towns of Dubona and Malo Orasje, south of Belgrade, shooting randomly at young people hanging out on a spring night.

Blazic was “aware of his actions and their illegality, as well as his persistent violent behavior” and killed and injured people, the jury said.

The mass killings in nearby areas shocked the country, which was used to wars and crises but where shootings were rare. These tragedies later sparked a wave of street protests and a campaign to curb illegal gun ownership.

Blazic’s 20-year prison sentence is the maximum allowed under Serbian law for people under the age of 21. Blazic was 20 years old when he committed the crime.

Separately, the gunman’s father, Radisa Blazic was also convicted of possession of illegal firearms used in the incident and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Admits ‘offensive acts’

During his trial, the younger Blazic said he could not explain what made him kill so many people. He said that when he was closing arguments, he felt that he was being harassed, but there is nothing concrete about what he did.

“I have committed horrible acts, and I deserve the most severe punishment,” he told the court. Serbian media reported that Blazic, who had a police record, was known for violence and violent behavior before the shooting.

Parents and relatives of the deceased were present at the court in Belgrade when the sentence was read. Many of them cried as they entered the courtroom Thursday morning, wearing shirts with pictures of Blazic’s victims.

Blazic’s massacre came just a day after a teenager used his father’s gun to kill nine classmates and a security guard at an elementary school in central Belgrade in what was the first school shooting in Serbia.

The parents of the school shooting suspect were put on trial in Belgrade. The suspect was under the age of culpability and remains in a special mental institution.