Serbian court convicts the parents of a teenage boy who shot dead 10 people in a school in Belgrade

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A court in Serbia on Monday convicted the parents of a teenage boy who last year shot dead nine pupils and a school guard and wounded six more people in a school in central Belgrade.

The Higher Court in Belgrade sentenced Vladimir Kecmanovic, father of the boy, to 14 years and six months in prison for “grave acts against public safety” and for child neglect. The mother, Miljana Kecmanovic was sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect but was acquitted on charges of illegal possession of weapons.

The shooter, identified as Kosta Kecmanovic, was 13 years old when he committed the crime and therefore too young to face a trial, according to Serbian law. His parents were detained soon after the shooting and charged for failing to keep the weapons out of reach of their son.

The massacre at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade on May 3, 2023, shocked the Balkan nation, which was used to crises but where mass school shootings had never happened before.

The couple's lawyer, Irina Borovic, said the verdict came as no surprise “because public pressure was enormous and the expectations were huge.” Borovic said she will appeal the verdicts.

Ninela Radicevic, who lost her daughter in the shooting, said “we are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children” and the school guard.

The boy used his father's guns to open fire on his fellow pupils and others. He walked into the school and first opened fire in the hall before heading into a classroom where he continued shooting.

Elementary schools in Serbia cater for children 7-15 years old.

Police have said that the teenager called them after the shooting and calmly said what he had done. He has been held in a specialized institution since the shooting and testified at his parents' trial. The proceedings were closed to the public except for the reading of the verdicts.

Also convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for a false testimony was a shooting instructor who worked at a shooting range where the boy practiced shooting.

The school shooting was followed the next day by another mass killing in villages outside the capital of Belgrade. Uros Blazic, 21, took an automatic rifle and opened fire at multiple locations, killing nine people and wounding 12. He was sentenced earlier this month to 20 years in prison.

The back-to-back shootings triggered a wave of street protests and a crackdown on widespread illegal gun ownership.

Students hold white flowers in front of the court building during a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Relatives and friends of victims arrive in the court building prior to a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Andjelko Acimovic, father of the murdered Angelina arrives in the court building prior to a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Students hold white flowers in front of the court building during a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Miljana Kecmanovic, mother of of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, arrives in the court building prior to a verdict in trial, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

NEW YORK (AP) — Ten people were wounded in a shooting outside a New York City nightclub while they were waiting to get into a private event, police said.

About 15 people were standing outside Amazura nightclub at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday in Jamaica, Queens, when four men on foot approached the group of 16 to 20 year olds. Three or four men opened fire on the group, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said during an early Thursday news conference.

About 30 shots were fired before the gunmen fled on foot. They were then seen getting into a sedan with out-of-state plates.

There is “zero tolerance for these senseless shootings," Rivera said.

Six women and four men were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

A massive police presence and several ambulances could be seen outside Amazura in footage posted on social media.

The motive was not immediately known but Rivera said: “This is not terrorism.”

In this grab taken from a video provided by the New York Police Department, Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera, centre, speaks to the media during a press conference in New York, early Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, the day after a shooting outside a nightclub in Queens. (NYPD via AP)