2023-05-17 10:12:01
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Dozens of Serbian schools received bomb threats Wednesday, the Education Ministry said, amid security concerns following two mass shootings this month, one of them at an elementary school.
A total of 78 primary schools and 37 secondary schools in Belgrade received email warnings early Wednesday that explosive devices had allegedly been planted on the premises, the Education Ministry said.
Classes were postponed and students were evacuated while the police checked the buildings.
There were no reports that bombs had been found in either center and the police had not yet filed a report.
There have been previous cases of multiple threats against schools in Serbia and other countries in the region, which have always turned out to be false. However, the warnings could raise fears after shootings on May 3 and 4, which left 10 dead and 21 injured.
The authorities have already deployed police officers in schools and launched a disarmament campaign.
The first shooting occurred at a primary school in central Belgrade, where a 13-year-old boy fired shots from his father’s gun. The next day, a 20-year-old man shot random people with an automatic weapon in two villages south of Belgrade.
The shootings shocked the country and prompted calls for action. Tens of thousands of people marched in two anti-violence protests, with more demonstrations planned for Friday.
The opposition has called for the resignation of the interior minister and the intelligence chief, as well as for two pro-government media outlets to lose their national licenses for broadcasting violent content and inviting war criminals and criminals to their shows.
They have also accused the president, the populist Aleksandar Vucic, of hate speech against his critics and of stifling democratic freedoms, which they say is fueling tension and divisions in the volatile Balkan country.
Vucic has denied the accusations and called his own march for May 26, as well as suggesting that early elections could be held in September.
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