Parents of Serbian school shooter sentenced again to prison

Parents of the minor who killed 10 people and injured six at Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School have been sentenced to multi-year prison terms for the second time. Vladimir Kecmanović received 14 and a half years, and Miljana Kecmanović was sentenced to two years and 11 months. Although the trial was closed to the public, the verdict announcement was open to all, filling the largest courtroom in the Palace of Justice.

The judge spent over two hours reading the verdict and its reasoning. The court found that the Kecmanović family failed to foster love, happiness, tenderness, and trust. The parents did not provide their son with emotional security or seek medical and psychological help, despite his feelings of rejection and being undervalued by peers.

The child, referred to as K.K., stated in his testimony that he wished to be imprisoned after the crime to be separated from his family and home. He expressed a desire for his parents to have stopped him and noted that without access to a weapon at home, he would not have committed the crime with anything else. He expected to be held criminally responsible.

The reasoning also detailed how Vladimir Kecmanović trained his son to handle air and firearms on four occasions, both independently and with professional assistance. This training included how to load a weapon, finger placement on the trigger, stance, breathing, and firing. The weapons used in the horrific crime were kept by Vladimir Kecmanović in two suitcases not designed for firearm storage.

Ognjen Božović, a lawyer for the victims, stated that hundreds of pieces of evidence, including photo and video documentation, were examined, and dozens of people were interviewed to clarify the relationship dynamics relevant to the charges. Defense attorney Irina Borović expressed hope that the verdict would not be the end of the discussion, emphasizing that the problem is deeper and cannot be fully resolved in a single criminal proceeding. The prosecution, however, stated satisfaction with the verdict, asserting that it proved all charges, including child neglect and failures in recognizing danger, limiting weapon access, and adequate supervision.