Serbian Minister of Education Branko Ružić has resigned four days after the fatal shooting in a primary school in Belgrade. After the killing spree in Belgrade, further bloody crimes took place in three villages about 50 kilometers south-east of the capital. A 21-year-old man shot people with an automatic rifle, killing eight of them. Now the government in Belgrade wants to tighten gun laws.
“As a responsible and well-behaved person, I submit my irrevocable resignation from the position of Minister of Education,” Ružić wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Ana Brnabić published on Twitter on Sunday. The 47-year-old socialist initially blamed the Internet, video games and “Western values” for a 13-year-old’s act on Wednesday. The opposition, human rights groups and thousands of demonstrators then demanded his resignation. More funerals are to follow on Monday. The 21-year-old suspect, believed to be responsible for the deaths of eight people and wounding 14, remained in police custody for 48 hours. He should be questioned by an investigating judge by Sunday afternoon at the latest. The Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described the bloody deed as a “terrorist act”, a qualification that experts doubt, a motive for the crime is still unknown Seven other people are said to have injured, was in the hospital. A 30-day pre-trial detention was imposed on his father, who is said to have taught him how to shoot, after the interrogation on Friday. The doctor and arms collector faces up to twelve years in prison because of “serious endangerment of general safety”. Classes are to start again on Monday. Classes are to start again on Monday at the “Vladislav Ribnikar” elementary school. Even though the school staff, the students and their parents have been offered psychological help in the past few days, many felt insecure.
