In a retrial that probably felt like a grim rerun, the parents of Serbia's teenage school shooter have been handed prison sentences. Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanović, whose 13-year-old son killed nine children and a security guard at Vladislav Ribnikar school in Belgrade in 2023, were convicted of neglect and abuse of a minor. The father, Vladimir, also faced charges for a serious offence against public safety, and got a heftier sentence of 14 years and six months. The mother, Miljana, received two years and 11 months. Both sides are appealing, because why not drag this out further?

The shooter, being under the age of criminal responsibility, was sent to a psychiatric institution, leaving his parents to face the music. The boy, 13 at the time, had taken two handguns from his father's safe, packed them in his backpack, and opened fire in the school's hall and a classroom on 3 May 2023. The attack killed seven girls, a boy, and a school guard, with another girl later dying in hospital. Five other children and a history teacher were wounded. In total, 66 bullets were fired in two minutes and one second, according to the judge's detailed recount, which is a statistic no one asked for but everyone now knows.

The trial has been a 'long fight' for the victims' families, as their lawyer Zora Dobričanin put it, and it's not over yet. The initial trial in 2024 saw the father convicted for training his son to handle guns and failing to store them safely, while the mother was cleared of illegal possession but convicted of neglect. An instructor from the shooting range where the boy practised was also found guilty of giving false evidence. But the court of appeal ordered a retrial in November 2025, citing unclear and contradictory reasons behind the verdicts. In the retrial, the chief prosecutor argued that convicting the parents would help answer how Serbian society responded to one of the most tragic events in peacetime history. Defence counsel, however, argued the charges weren't proven and no expert opinion showed the boy was neglected - apparently, a 13-year-old with access to guns and a taste for target practice isn't evidence enough.

Mass shootings were virtually unheard of in Serbia before this, and the attack shook the nation. Two days later, another gunman killed nine people in a drive-by shooting near Belgrade. Tens of thousands protested, and the government responded with a gun amnesty and stricter laws. But for the families of the victims, justice remains a work in progress.