Starting today, May 8, and until June 8, all citizens of Serbia will be able to hand in illegally possessed weapons to the police without incurring criminal consequences. The government decision was taken after the two mass murders that occurred last week concerns all types of firearms, as well as war materials, such as grenades, mines, portable rocket launchers, etc., according to the announcement of the Ministry of the Interior.

“I call on citizens who possess illegal weapons to seize the opportunity and surrender them, because once the given deadline has passed, the punishments imposed on the offenders will be very severe,” said the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vucic, in an interview on Serbian public television. He also stated that measures will be taken to control gun license holders, such as conducting, surprise psychological and toxicological tests at regular intervals. In Serbia with 6.8 million inhabitants, 765,000 citizens have gun licenses. However, it is estimated that approximately 2.5 million citizens own at least one firearm.

As of today, security measures have been increased in all schools in Serbia, with the presence of two fully armed police officers at the entrance, while there are also patrols around the school buildings.

In the elementary school “Vladislav Rybnikar”, where last Wednesday a fourteen-year-old student killed eight of his classmates and the school guard, will start operating in two days. Many parents of children attending this school are asking for the site of the tragedy to be renovated before lessons start.