Serbian man confesses to killing 8 in shooting rampage, prosecutors say

Prosecutors said a man has admitted shooting at numerous people in three different locations near the town of Mladenovac on Thursday with an automatic rifle

Serbia is also in shock after a mass shooting at a school in Belgrade on Wednesday in which nine people were killed

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Mourners attend a funeral for five people killed during the second mass shooting in two days, in the village of Malo Orasje, south of Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday. Photo: AP

Published: 3:03am, 7 May 2023Updated: 7:20am, 7 May 2023

A 20-year-old Serbian man suspected of killing eight people and wounding 12 others has confessed to the crime, the prosecutors’ office in the town of Smederevo near Belgrade said in a statement on Saturday.

Serbia is in shock and mourning after two mass shootings: a school massacre in the capital on Wednesday in which nine people were killed, and the rampage outside the city on Thursday to which the 20-year-old has confessed. The suspects are in custody in connection with both cases.

In a statement seen by Reuters, the prosecutors said a man identified only as U.B. has admitted shooting at numerous people in three different locations near the town of Mladenovac on Thursday with an automatic rifle to “intimidate the population in those places”.

A relative of a victim cries during a funeral for five people killed during Serbia’s second mass shooting in two days, in the village of Malo Orasje, south of Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday. Photo: AP

U.B. is suspected of committing several crimes including aggravated murder, illegal production, possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons and explosive materials, and of kidnapping, said the prosecutors in Smederevo, the municipality where some of the shooting occurred.

No lawyer for the suspect has been named.

Following the shooting rampage, U.B. got in a taxi and forced the driver to take him to the town of Kragujevac where he was arrested on Friday morning.

Relatives of victims of a mass shooting during a funeral service in the village Malo Orasje, near Mladenovac, Serbia on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE

A girl shot in the head in a school shooting in Serbia in which eight pupils and a guard were killed is still in critical condition, RTS state television reported on Saturday.

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