Flowers, candles, silence as Serbia marks the 1st anniversary of mass shooting at a Belgrade school

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people laid flowers and lit candles on Friday to commemorate the victims of Serbia’s first-ever school shooting a year ago that left nine children and a school guard dead and six people wounded.

A somber, silent queue formed on a rainy day outside the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School in central Belgrade where a 13-year-old boy is accused of opening fire at his schoolmates with his father’s guns last year.

The shooting stunned Serbia. The Balkan nation was no stranger to violent crime, but mass shootings are rare, and one hadn’t taken place at a school before.

Just a day later, a shooting rampage outside the capital further shocked the country. A 20-year-old man was accused of killing nine and wounding 12 others, mostly young people.

Friday’s vigil formally started at 8:41 a.m., the time of the school shooting last year. Serbian television stations interrupted their broadcasts, showing the text “We remember” on a black screen.