Serbian veteran kills 13 in shooting spree
Source: Agencies |
April 10, 2013, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A 60-year-old veteran gunned down 13 people in Serbia, including his mother, his son and a two-year-old cousin, in a pre-dawn house-to-house rampage yesterday before shooting himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said.
The man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses in Velika Ivanca, a village 50 kilometers southeast of Belgrade, emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said.
Twelve people were killed immediately between 5am and 5:30am and one person died in a Belgrade hospital, Serbian police chief Milorad Veljovic said. The man and his wife were both severely injured by the shootings and another person was also injured, Macura said.
"We were all caught by surprise," Veljovic told reporters. "Most of the victims were shot while they were asleep."
He said the motive for the killings was unclear.
Media reports said the suspect had a license for the handgun. Although such shootings are relatively rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available, mostly from the 1990s wars in the Balkans.
Residents said the man first killed his son before leaving the house and then began shooting his neighbors. They expressed shock, describing the suspect as a nice quiet man.
"He knocked on the doors and as they were opened he just fired a shot," said resident Radovan Radosavljevic. "He was a good neighbor and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."
Neighbors said an entire five-member family was shot dead in one house, including the small boy who was the suspected killer's cousin.
Milovan Kostadinovic, another neighbor, said the suspect was caught by police while on the way to his house. "If they didn't stop him, he would have wiped us all out," Kostadinovic said, standing in front of his two-story, red tile- roofed house - one of a dozen modest homes that make up the village. "He shot himself when police stopped him."
The suspect had lost his job last year and fought as a Serb soldier in the war in Croatia in 1992, the police chief said.
Villagers said Bogdanovic fought in Vukovar, the eastern Croatian town that was destroyed in a massive Serbian-led army offensive - the scene of the worst bloodshed during Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said the killings showed that the government must pay more attention to gun control laws and other social problems facing the Balkan nation, which is still reeling from the 1990s wars.
The man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses in Velika Ivanca, a village 50 kilometers southeast of Belgrade, emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said.
Twelve people were killed immediately between 5am and 5:30am and one person died in a Belgrade hospital, Serbian police chief Milorad Veljovic said. The man and his wife were both severely injured by the shootings and another person was also injured, Macura said.
"We were all caught by surprise," Veljovic told reporters. "Most of the victims were shot while they were asleep."
He said the motive for the killings was unclear.
Media reports said the suspect had a license for the handgun. Although such shootings are relatively rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available, mostly from the 1990s wars in the Balkans.
Residents said the man first killed his son before leaving the house and then began shooting his neighbors. They expressed shock, describing the suspect as a nice quiet man.
"He knocked on the doors and as they were opened he just fired a shot," said resident Radovan Radosavljevic. "He was a good neighbor and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."
Neighbors said an entire five-member family was shot dead in one house, including the small boy who was the suspected killer's cousin.
Milovan Kostadinovic, another neighbor, said the suspect was caught by police while on the way to his house. "If they didn't stop him, he would have wiped us all out," Kostadinovic said, standing in front of his two-story, red tile- roofed house - one of a dozen modest homes that make up the village. "He shot himself when police stopped him."
The suspect had lost his job last year and fought as a Serb soldier in the war in Croatia in 1992, the police chief said.
Villagers said Bogdanovic fought in Vukovar, the eastern Croatian town that was destroyed in a massive Serbian-led army offensive - the scene of the worst bloodshed during Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said the killings showed that the government must pay more attention to gun control laws and other social problems facing the Balkan nation, which is still reeling from the 1990s wars.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
