Lawyer: Serbia failed to learn lessons from school shooting

Ognjen Božović, a lawyer representing victims' families in the "Ribnikar" school shooting case, has strongly refuted the notion that the "system did not fail." He stated that the essential lessons from the tragedy have not been drawn, arguing that the focus has been misplaced on the event's details rather than its underlying causes.

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the system did not fail

Božović commented on the court proceedings, which were largely closed to the public but saw final arguments and the verdict explained publicly. He noted that the court decided to make these public partly because information had been leaking, creating a distorted public perception based on inaccurate claims. The lawyer believes that for society to learn from this incident, the focus must return to the family as the core unit and to restoring lost values, especially given the perceived erosion of the societal value system over the past three decades.

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the real lessons have not been learned

He urged institutions to re-examine critical areas highlighted by the tragedy, particularly gun control. Božović stressed the importance of thoroughly investigating who can possess firearms and under what conditions. He advocated for strengthening preventive systems, psychological support, and the institutions responsible for crucial oversight. Božović finds the official narrative that "the system did not fail" unacceptable, asserting that the tragedy is complex and should not be reduced to the actions of a single child or a deviant family. He believes responsibility is broader, involving numerous factors, and that the state's assertion aimed to pacify the public without addressing systemic errors that led to a 13-year-old mass shooter.

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everything starts at home