A trial started Monday for the parents of a Serbian teenager accused of fatally shooting 10 people and injuring six more at his school last May.
The suspected shooter, Kosta Kecmanovic, 13, has been held in a mental institution since the incident at Belgrade’s Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School and cannot be held criminally liable under Serbian law because of his age.
The parents are charged with a “serious act against general safety” in connection with the attack. Prosecutors contend the parents failed to safeguard the firearm and ammunition used in the shootings.
Prosecutors added charges for the father because he trained the boy to shoot and allowed him to conceal the handgun and ammunition used in the shootings. The mother is accused of illegal possession of ammunition. The manager of a shooting range and an instructor also have been charged.
The couple has pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the Serbian broadcaster RTS.
The proceedings have been closed to the public despite a denunciation by Irina Borovic, the attorney representing the parents.
"We hope that the court will reconsider this decision during the trial and that the public will be informed," Borovic told local media.
The Belgrade attack was followed by another mass shooting a day later in central Serbia that killed eight people and wounded 14.
The two attacks triggered months of protests targeting Serbia's populist president, Aleksandar Vucic, despite his vow to “disarm” the nation. Protesters allege that Vucic has created a culture of violence in the country. Serbia has one of the highest levels of gun ownership in the world, with 39 firearms for every 100 civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey project.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.
