A Serbian court sentenced Uros Blazic to 20 years in prison Thursday for gunning down nine people and wounding 12 others in a shooting rampage outside Belgrade last May, delivering the maximum sentence allowed for offenders under 21 years old.
The 21-year-old defendant opened fire with an automatic rifle on May 4, 2023, randomly targeting young people at multiple locations in the villages of Dubona and Malo Orasje. The attack came just one day after Serbia’s first school shooting, where a teenager killed nine students and a guard at a Belgrade elementary school.
“I committed hideous acts and I deserve the toughest punishment,” Blazic told the court during closing arguments, saying he felt victimized but acknowledged no justification for his actions. The judges found he was “aware of his actions and their illegality, and with relentless violent behavior” killed and wounded his victims.
The court also convicted Blazic’s father, Radisa Blazic, sentencing him to 20 years for illegal possession of the weapons used in the shooting. Local media reported the younger Blazic had a police record and history of violent behavior before the massacre.
Victims’ families attended the verdict, many sobbing as they entered the courtroom wearing shirts bearing images of their lost loved ones. The shootings, unprecedented in modern Serbian history, sparked street protests and a government crackdown on illegal weapons.
The school shooter’s parents are currently on trial in Belgrade, while their son, who was below the age of criminal responsibility, remains in a specialized mental institution.
