what we know about this attack which killed nine people, including a French student

A drama in the heart of the Serbian capital. Eight students and the guardian of a primary school in Belgrade were shot dead on Wednesday, May 3, by a student from the establishment. The alleged shooter was arrested by the police in the playground. One of the victims is a student of French nationality, revealed the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. The government Serb declared three days of national mourning from Friday. Classes in Serbian schools will begin on Thursday with a minute of silence. Here’s what we know about the attack, which took place in a country where shootings in schools are extremely rare.

Shots are fired in the early morning

At around 8:40 a.m. (local time), a 13-year-old pupil of the Vladislav-Ribnikar primary school in the Vracar district of central Belgrade opened fire on schoolmates. The suspect then contacted the police, initially alerted by the vice-principal of the school. “He said he shot several people”reported the Belgrade police chief.

Shortly after the attack, the alleged shooter was arrested in the school playground and police cordoned off the perimeter around the school. Many ambulances went to the scene to take care of the injured, under the eyes of worried parents waiting for their children nearby, according to an AFP journalist.

“All police forces are still on the ground and working intensively to shed light on all the facts and circumstances that led to this tragedy,” said the Ministry of the Interior at the start of the afternoon.

Eight students and a guard died

The toll of the killing in the school is very heavy. Eight pupils as well as the guard of the establishment were killed. “He wanted to prevent this tragedy and he died”said Milan Nedeljkovic, the president of the municipality of Vracar, assuring that “The tragedy would probably have been worse if this man had not stood in front of the boy who was shooting”. The children killed are seven girls and a boy, all born in 2009, 2010 and 2011, said the Belgrade police chief. One of the victims was of French nationality, the French Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday afternoon. The Vladislav-Ribnikar school “has a tradition of teaching French since 1923”explains the site of the “France education” label, awarded by the Quai d’Orsay and which the establishment has received.

Moreover, “six children and a teacher were injured and were hospitalized”announced the Ministry of the Interior in a press release, without giving more details on the level of severity of their injuries.

The alleged perpetrator is a 13-year-old boy

The alleged perpetrator of the killing is a student of the establishment. The 13-year-old had a detailed plan for the killing and a list of the children targeted. According to the Belgrade police chief, the suspect “planned the shooting for a month”. “The sketch looks like something out of a video game or horror movie, which means he planned [la tuerie] in detail”he said at a press conference, adding that the plans drawn had been discovered on a work table belonging to the suspect.

According to the police chief, the suspect arrived at the school armed with a 9mm pistol, another small caliber and four Molotov cocktails. The father of the suspect, owner of the weapons, was also arrested, according to the Serbian interior minister. According to him, he claims that “the weapons were locked in a safe with a code, but apparently the child had the code, since he managed to take the pistols and three magazines with fifteen bullets each”.