Thousands protest in Serbia after deadly back-to-back mass shootings

Tens of thousands of Serbs protested on Monday, demanding better security, a ban on violent TV content and the resignation of a key minister, a day after two mass shootings killed 17 people.

Crowds in numbers not seen in the Balkan countries for years solemnly marched through the center of the capital Belgrade behind a banner reading “Serbia Against Violence.”

“We have gathered here to pay our last respects, to do our best to prevent this from happening again, wherever,” said Borivoje Plecevic from Belgrade.

A boy who brought two handguns to his school on Wednesday killed eight students and a security guard. Six other students and a teacher were injured.

One day, a 21-year-old man wielding an assault rifle and a pistol killed eight people and wounded 14 others.

The protesters demanded that the media be shut down

Both shooters surrendered to police.

Protesters and opposition supporters demanded the shutdown of TV stations and tabloids accused of promoting violent and vulgar content.

Opposition parties and some rights groups accuse President Aleksandar Vucic and the ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of being an autocracy, oppressing media freedom, violence against political opponents, corruption and ties to organized crime. Vucic and his allies deny the allegations.

Vucic said the protesters on Monday were trying to force him to resign and destroy the country. He said he was ready to test the party’s popularity in the snap vote, but did not specify a date.

“I will continue to work and will not back down before the streets and crowds… Will it be a government reshuffle or [snap] election, we will see,” he said on live TV.

Parliamentary elections in Serbia are scheduled for 2026 and the next presidential contest is set for 2027.

The protesters also demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic and Aleksandar Vulin, director of the state security agency, and their dismissal from the Government Regulatory Committee for Electronic Media (REM) within a week.

Amnesty to surrender illegal weapons

Education Minister Branko Ruzic resigned on Sunday.

The protesters demanded an emergency parliamentary session and a debate on the overall security situation.

Snezana, a woman in her 60s who declined to give her last name, said the demonstration was an act of solidarity against violence in the media, parliament and everyday life. “Solidarity is due to the lost child,” he said.

Similar protests took place in several other Serbian cities.

In response to the shooting, Serbian police on Monday began a month-long amnesty for handing in illegal weapons. He said more than 1,500 were handed over on the first day.

Vucic also announced a police check of registered gun owners.

Serbia has a deep gun culture, and along with the rest of the Western Balkans, there are military-grade weapons and armories in private hands after the 1990s war that tore apart the former Yugoslavia.