Serbia's education minister resigns over school shooting

The country is still in shock over two recent shootings, the school attack in the capital on Wednesday (3 May) and the rampage that took place outside the city Thursday (4 May). Eight people were killed.

Both suspects - a 13-year old boy and a man of 20 years - are currently in custody.

The opposition parties who accuse the government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic for not preventing these two attacks invited their supporters to join a march against the government on Monday evening (8 May) in Belgrade. They demanded Ruzic’s resignation among other things.

In his letter of resignation to Brnabic, Ruzic stated that he had made the rational decision to step down as "a man who is responsible, well-educated, a professional, having fulfilled all my public duties to date, a father, and a citizen".

After the shootings last week, the government announced a package of measures aimed at preventing violent incidents in schools and reducing civilian weapons.

Serbia is a country with a strong gun culture. This is especially true in rural areas. However, its gun laws were already fairly strict before the recent shootings. The Western Balkans, including Serbia, are overflowing with military grade weapons and ordnance left in private hands following the 1990s wars which tore apart former Yugoslavia.

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