Schoolboy shooter testifies at parents' trial in Belgrade

A 14-year-old boy who killed nine children and a security guard in a mass shooting at a school in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, last year has given evidence at his parents' trial behind closed doors.

The boy, who has been held in a psychiatric institution since the May 2023 attack, cannot be put on trial because he is below the age of criminal responsibility.

His parents went on trial earlier this year, accused of a "serious act against general safety" for failing to secure the weapons and ammunition properly. They deny the charges.

Identified only as KK, the boy was brought to the court by a special escort, leaving the psychiatric hospital for the first time since the attack.

He was questioned as a witness, by the judge, the prosecutor and defence lawyers for the familes of the dead and wounded. He also answered questions from the mother of a murdered child.

Parents of the murdered children attended the hearing in the hope of shedding light on the motive for the boy's mass shooting at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school.

KK was 13 when he took a handgun to the school and opened fire on other children. Eight of the nine children he murdered were girls.

Serbia was plunged into further grief less than 48 hours later, when another eight people were shot dead by a 21-year-old man in a village outside the capital.

Public prosecutors warned Serbian media before Tuesday's hearing not to leak any details of the boy's testimony inside the special courtroom at Belgrade's High Court. However, many of the parents who were inside court left afterwards in tears.

"Today was one of the most harrowing trials I have witnessed in my career," said Ognen Bozovic, a lawyer representing the families of the murdered children.

He told reporters outside the court that most of the questions the boy was asked were aimed at determining the motive behind the shooting. "My opinion is that his testimony today will help bring about convictions," he said.

KK's father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, is being held in custody and is also accused of teaching the boy how to shoot while failing to guard the weapons at home. His mother remains free on bail.

The family's lawyer told reporters afterwards that the boy had lived a normal life before the shooting and no court process would be able to establish what had led to his attack.