Mladenovac And Smederevo Shootings

On the evening of 4 May 2023, a shooting spree occurred in the villages of Dubona near Mladenovac, and Malo Orašje near Smederevo, Serbia. Armed with an automatic assault rifle, the shooter opened fire from a car, resulting in the deaths of nine individuals, including an off-duty police officer, and leaving twelve others injured. The suspect, 20-year-old Uroš Blažić, fled the scene but was apprehended the next day near Kragujevac.

Following the incident, Blažić's father, uncle, and first cousin were also taken into custody, facing charges related to criminal possession of a weapon. Uncle and first cousin were tried separately from the rest. First cousin was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison, while uncle was acquitted.

Blažić was charged with murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, kidnapping, and carjacking.

This incident occurred one day after the Belgrade school shooting. Both shootings caused mass protests in Serbia.

Background

There have been four earlier mass shootings in the 21st century: the 2007 Jabukovac killings, during which nine people were killed and five were injured; the 2013 Velika Ivanča shooting, which also occurred in Mladenovac and in which 14 people were killed; the 2016 Žitište shooting, in which five people were killed and 22 injured; and the Belgrade school shooting that occurred the day before, leading the Serbian government to propose stricter regulations on gun ownership.

Shooting

The suspected shooter, 20-year-old Uroš Blažić, quarreled with his friends at a football stadium in Mladenovac. After that, he drove to Šepšin, where he took weapons from his cottage. Then, he went by car to Malo Orašje, where at 10:32 p.m. he began his rampage. He shot 11 friends who were having a barbecue in the centre of the village, near the football field and the war victims' monument. Afterwards, he continued to Dubona. There, he first fired a pistol at several older adults who were repairing the fence, seriously injuring them. Then, he continued to the schoolyard, located next to the road, where he killed four young people with a rifle and then wounded several additional people, again with a pistol. All roads around Mladenovac towards Dubona and Šepšin were closed after the shooting. Blažić was allegedly alone while the shooting occurred.

After the shootings, Blažić left his car and stole another in Dubona, driving to the tollbooth near Mali Požarevac. There, he stopped a taxi driver from Smederevo who was driving a pregnant woman. Threatening them with a hand grenade, he demanded to be taken to a village near Kragujevac. Blažić reportedly let the pregnant woman out of the car more than half an hour later. The police issued a warrant for his arrest and searched for him in Mali Požarevac, where he was last seen after the shootings. The taxi then took him to Vinjište, near Kragujevac, where he hid himself and was eventually arrested.

According to ''Blic'', the taxi driver told the Prosecutor's Office that he received a call from the dispatcher with a ride to the vicinity of Ub. While he was driving a female passenger, he turned off the highway at the Mali Požarevac tollbooth due to the presence of police vehicles. At around 11:30 p.m., Blažić entered the taxi driver's car, claiming he had a bomb. Blažić sat next to the woman, who was silent. At the toll booth, Blažić was disturbed by the presence of police officers and ordered the taxi driver to drive without stopping and with the fuse on. The woman told Blažić that she was pregnant. After that, he calmed down and asked the taxi driver to go to Mladenovac. The taxi driver convinced Blažić to take the woman to Ub to avoid suspicion. While driving, the taxi driver received a call from the dispatcher who asked about the murders, but the taxi driver replied that he did not know much. While driving, the woman's boyfriend called her on a phone, but Blažić warned her to be careful with what she said. The taxi driver heard Blažić say, "You will be fine; you just have to listen to me." The taxi driver tried to persuade Blažić to get out of the vehicle earlier so that the boyfriend would not become suspicious, but Blažić did not comply. When they arrived near Ub, Blažić warned the woman to watch what she was doing and not to report him so she would not have problems. Her boyfriend paid for the ride, and the woman exited the car. Blažić then ordered the taxi driver to turn off the meter and the tablet and to go to Kragujevac using side roads.

Casualties

Eight people were instantly killed in the shootings. Among the victims in Dubona was an off-duty police officer, aged 22; his 19-year-old sister; and a 25-year-old man. Two 15-year-old boys and three men, aged 18, 20, and 21, lost their lives in Malo Orašje. One of the wounded from Malo Orašje, a 26-year-old man, died more than a month later, on 23 June, bringing the number of deaths to nine.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, fourteen others, including children, were injured. The injured were sent to University Hospital Center Dr Dragiša Mišović. The Minister of Health, Danica Grujičić, said all of the wounded were in a life-threatening situation. One injured girl had her hand amputated. However, some media outlets reported were thirteen injured, while others reported twelve.

Emergency response

The Gendarmery, Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, and Helicopter unit were reported to have arrived at the villages of Mladenovac and Dubona. According to Serbian media, police officers set up checkpoints and stopped cars as they searched for the gunman. Helicopters, drones, and multiple police patrols were also dispatched to the area surrounding Dubona. Grujičić and the head of the Security Intelligence Agency, Aleksandar Vulin, reportedly travelled to the area. A blood donation for the wounded was organised by the Ministry of Health.

Legal proceedings

Suspect

Blažić was brought to a police station in Smederevo on 5 May and was later ordered to be detained for 48 hours. He is charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, kidnapping, and carjacking. On 6 May, Blažić admitted to committing the acts and said he used an assault rifle and three pistols. He acknowledged his shootings of people he did not know to spread fear among villages. In his testimony, Blažić tried to justify his massacre by claiming that he suffered bullying in primary school and that the villagers "taunted him and plotted against him" and allegedly spoke severely about his father, including that he was a "criminal".

On 7 May, the High Court issued a judgment to take him in custody for 30 days. On 10 May, the rifle used in the shootings was found in Šepšin. On 25 May, Blažić was transferred to the Special Prison Hospital in Belgrade, where he will undergo a mental status examination. On 2 June, his detention was extended for another 30 days. On 26 June, the court prohibited Blažić and his father and uncle from disposing of their property. On 30 June, Blažić's detention was re-extended for another 30 days. On 27 July, Blažić's detention was re-extended for three months.

Suspect's family

Blažić's uncle and grandfather were also arrested. The police found four bombs, a flare gun, a submachine gun, two silencers, a hunter's knife, and various ammunition in the house of Blažić's grandfather. Although they did not participate in preparing the incident or its execution, three members of Blažić's family were arrested on charges of criminal possession of weapons, including the father who is also charged for acts against public safety. These are the following persons:

On 10 May, the police arrested Blažić's father, lieutenant colonel Radiša Blažić. They found several hundred bullets and two handguns in his house. The next day, the High Court issued a judgment to keep the father in custody for 30 days. On 8 June, his detention was extended for another 30 days. On 26 June, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Smederevo ordered a mental status examination for the father. On 5 July, his detention was re-extended for another 30 days. On 27 July, the father's detention was re-extended for three months. In September, the higher public prosecutor's office in Smederevo expanded the investigation against the father due to the suspicion that he committed a criminal act against public safety.

On 26 May, the High Court also issued a judgment to keep the uncle in custody for 30 days because he would interfere with the proceedings by influencing the witnesses. His 30-day detention was re-extended twice; on 22 June and 21 July.

On 11 June, the police arrested Blažić's 19-year-old first cousin while the High Court issued a judgment to keep him in custody for 30 days. On 22 July, his detention was extended for another 30 days.

Blažić's uncle and first cousin were tried separately from Blažić and his father. Their trial started on 27 May 2024. On 19 June, first cousin was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison, while uncle was acquitted.

Forensic analysis, primarily the mobile device forensics, were slated to reveal whether Blažić had an accomplice.

Witnesses

According to ''Blic'', at least 50 witnesses were scheduled to be brought in for questioning starting on 25 May. At the same time, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office gave experts and psychiatrists a deadline to perform an expert examination of Blažić and submit their findings to the prosecutor's office within the next 30 days. On 30 May, the woman in the taxi that Blažić hijacked was heard before the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Smederevo, where she said that she faked her pregnancy after Blažić hijacked the vehicle because she was afraid that he would kill her. As of 29 June, 48 witnesses were brought in for questioning or gave their testimony, including family members of the victims, eyewitnesses, and others. Blažić's brother refused to testify.

Suspect

Uroš Blažić ( sr-cyr, Урош Блажић; born 11 October 2002) is the suspect in the shootings.

According to neighbors, Blažić was known for his arrogant and aggressive behavior, as well as for the fact that he was never held accountable for his misdemeanors, since he was protected by his father. He has been a fan of a Serbian former criminal, Kristijan Golubović.

Blažić opened his criminal record several years ago. On 28 July 2019, a misdemeanour charge of insolent behaviour was filed against him after he used a chainsaw to cut the ramp used by a Dubona local to protect the entrance to his property. The tractor's front wheel, which the minor was driving, caused minor injuries to the person. Blažić also has an assault on a police officer in his file. As a minor, he drove a motorcycle, did not stop at the police officer's signal and hit him with his motorcycle. The police officer sustained shoulder and hip injuries. He passed two patrols, and the third one stopped him. An invitation was sent to report on 1 June 2020 to the juvenile police officer in Mladenovac. Then his motorcycle was temporarily confiscated.

His father is a retired lieutenant colonel of the Serbian Armed Forces. In 2022, Blažić passed all of the tests while enrolling at the Military Academy in Serbia. However, he did not pass the Military Security Agency (VBA) background check due to previous misdemeanour proceedings for violent behaviour.

Events during his imprisonment

On 17 June 2023, Blažić fought with another detainee after returning to the Smederevo detention from the Special Prison Hospital in Belgrade. After the argument, he physically attacked his cellmate, punching him in the face. On 7 July, the court sentenced him to a disciplinary penalty of visiting restrictions for all family members.

On 1 August, firefighters extinguished a fire at the cottage in Šepšin where Blažić had weapons stored prior to the attack. It is not known how the fire broke out. According to ''Blic'', locals suspect that the fire was set. Also, the locals had been protesting for a long time, demanding that Blažić's family move out of the village.

Aftermath

Interior Minister Bratislav Gašić and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić denounced the shooting as a terrorist act. At a press conference on 5 May, Vučić announced new measures and added that Blažić "will not see the light of day again", that "he will not get out of the prison", and that all people with weapons will undergo an audit. The new measures include a moratorium on gun permits, more medical and psychological checks on gun owners, and hiring 1,200 police officers in schools. He also announced that the new measures would "almost completely disarm Serbia". The measures were adopted by the government later that day.

On 23 May, President Vučić visited Dubona and Malo Orašje to meet with the victims' families On 13 June, the fortieth-day memorial service was held in Dubona and Malo Orašje.

On 8 May, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs offered a one-month amnesty for surrendering illegal or unregistered weapons and ammunition. Initially set to end on 8 June, the call, known as ''Hand Over Your Weapons'' ( sr-cyr, Предај оружје, Predaj oružje), had extended the deadline to 30 June. The ministry reported that citizens handed over 78,302 firearms, 4,085,000 rounds of ammunition, and 25,914 pieces of ordnance by the end of the call.

On 18 July, MP Marinika Tepić was elected as the chairperson of the National Assembly's Inquiry Committee to determine the facts and circumstances that led to the mass murders at the Belgrade school shooting and Dubona and Malo Orašj shootings.

Protests

Following the shootings, opposition parties, namely the Ujedinjeni parliamentary group, People's Party, Do not Let Belgrade Drown, Together, Democratic Party, and Dveri, announced they would organise a protest against violence on 8 May. The protestors met in front of the country's parliament before marching in silence through the streets near Serbian government offices to demand the resignation of Vulin, Gašić, the Minister of Education Branko Ružić, and the council of the , as well as cancelling programmes that promote violence and shutting down media and tabloids that publish false news and violate the Journalistic Code. In response, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić accused them of "politicising" the shootings. According to the organisers, the protest in Belgrade was attended by approximately 50,000 demonstrators. The second protest was held on 12 May; it began in front of the National Assembly of Serbia building while the demonstrators continued walking to the Gazela Bridge and ended at Sava Centar. Another "Serbia Against Violence" protest was held a day later in Kragujevac.

See also

* List of massacres in Serbia
* List of rampage killers in Europe
* List of national days of mourning (2020–present)

Notes

References

External links

* at ''Blic''

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