13,500 weapons were turned over in Serbia, including firearms, grenades, and rocket launchers

Authorities in Serbia on Sunday revealed piles of weaponry among the thousands of weapons, including anti-tank rocket launchers, they claim citizens have turned in since back-to-back mass murders shocked the Balkan nation, including stacks of rifles and packs of hand grenades.

As part of a crackdown on guns after two killings in two days this month that left 17 people dead, many of them youngsters, the government issued a one-month amnesty period for citizens to turn in unregistered weapons.

Top police officials visited the arsenal of weapons positioned near the town of Smederevo, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital, with populist president Aleksandar Vucic. Vucic’s government has come under public pressure following the separate shootings at a school in Belgrade and in two villages.

Since the amnesty began on May 8, officials reported that residents have turned over roughly 13,500 items.

A warehouse was shown in photos from the area to have lines of rifles, automatic guns, and pistols neatly piled on the floor, along with wooden boxes containing hand grenades.

From the Balkan warfronts of the 1990s, Serbia has imported tens of thousands of weapons. Similar weapons amnesties have been attempted in the past with varying degrees of success.

About half of the firearms seized since last week were held unlawfully, according to Vucic, while the other half were legal weapons that people nevertheless chose to surrender. The president declared that the surrendered weapons will be sent to Serbian ammunition and weapon industries for prospective use by the nation’s armed forces.

According to the authorities, those found in possession of illicit firearms after the amnesty period has expired risk receiving convictions and terms of up to 15 years in prison.

Regarding the time following the amnesty, Vucic stated, “After June 8, the state will respond with repressive measures and punishments will be very strict.” “Why would anyone require an automatic weapon? Or the entire arsenal?

According to estimates, Serbia has one of the highest per capita rates of registered firearms in Europe, and many more are believed to be illegally kept.

After a 13-year-old boy opened fire on classmates in an elementary school in the center of Belgrade on May 3, using his father’s gun, authorities launched the gun sweep. A day later, a 20-year-old guy opened fire at random with an automatic weapon in a rural location south of Belgrade.

Stricter regulation of gun owners and shooting ranges are among Vucic’s other anti-gun proposals. Gun owners are required to keep their registered firearms in a coded safe, according to police officials, and any guns not kept securely will be seized.

Bojana Otovic Pjanovic, an inspector in the anti-crime department, stated on Serbian state television network RTS that officials intend to request inspections of registered addresses “to check whether there exist conditions for safekeeping.” If not, the weapons will be confiscated, and severe punishment will be meted out.

In some previous collecting attempts, according to the police, people disposed of their weapons in trash cans or left them unsecured rather than taking them to police stations.

According to experts, thousands of illegal firearms have allegedly remained unlicensed and out of reach of law enforcement.

Otovic Pjanovic, a police official, emphasized that following recent shootings, “citizens became aware of the risks of keeping guns at home.”

The two mass shootings that shocked the country and led to calls for change in a nation that has experienced decades of upheaval and crises left 17 people dead and 21 injured.

Since the shootings, tens of thousands of people have participated in two protest marches in Belgrade, calling for the resignation of government officials and a ban on television networks that promote violent material and feature war criminals and other criminals.

Bratislav Gasic, the interior minister, was present at the weapons show on Sunday. On Sunday, Vucic rejected calls from the opposition for Gasic’s resignation. But at a gathering he’s scheduled for May 26 in Belgrade, the president said he might call an early election and that the administration might dissolve.

We don’t intend to replace Gasic, who is doing a fantastic job as interior minister, added Vucic. What did the cops do incorrectly?

Politicians from the opposition have said that the government is inciting violence and hate speech against opponents, propagandizing in the media, and establishing dictatorial rule in all institutions under Vucic, all of which they claim exacerbate social tensions.

In order to advance their claims, demonstrators in Belgrade on Friday blocked a crucial bridge and highway in the city. In an outpouring of grief and rage over the shootings and the populist government, protests have also been conducted in other Serbian cities and villages.

While he and other officials and media under his control attempted to minimize the number of demonstrators, Vucic described the bridge blockade as harassment.