Belgrade

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has vowed to completely “disarm” the Balkan country in the wake of back-to-back shootings witnessed within 48 hours. 

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On Friday, the president ordered a slew of strict gun control measures, including stringent background checks on gun owners, large-scale review of registered weapons in the country, and crackdown on illegal arms. 

“We will conduct a revision of all people who possess firearms, around 400,000 of them. After these checks, there will be no more than 30,000 to 40,000 weapons legally owned," Vucic announced as he condemned the latest attack as "terrorism" and "an attack on us all".  

He also said that they will impose double the penalties on those carrying illegal firearms and other weapons like knives. The president further said that no new gun permits would be issued. 

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The gun owners will be also subjected to more frequent psychiatric and psychological tests, as well as ad hoc drug testing, he said. 

The Serbian leader further pledged to strengthen security for schools, announcing that 1,200 new police officers will be recruited in the next six months to be deployed to schools across the country. 

Serbia: 8 dead, 13 injured in second mass shooting in two days 

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Even though Serbia ranks among the highest in terms of gun ownership in Europe, mass shootings are extremely rare. 

According to an estimate provided by the president, Serbia currently holds more than 760,000 registered firearms in the country of roughly 6.8 million. 

The western Balkan regions are flooded with illegal weapons following wars and unrest in the 1990s.  

In 2019, it was estimated that there are 39.1 firearms per 100 people in Serbia — the third highest in the world, behind the US and Montenegro, reports BBC. 

The tough measures on gun control come following repeated shootings in the country. 

A man was on Friday arrested after opening fire from a moving car, killing eight and injuring 14. 

That shooting came soon after a boy killed nine people at a school. 

Wednesday's attack, where the 13-year-old shot dead eight fellow pupils at his school in Belgrade, as well as a security guard, was Serbia's worst shooting in years. 

The second incident occurred in the early hours of Friday near the town of Mladenovac, 60km (37 miles) south of Belgrade, when the shooter opened fire from a moving car. 

According to local reports, the suspect, who is said to be in his early 20s, started firing at people with an automatic weapon after having an argument with a police officer in a park on Thursday evening. 

He was arrested on Friday morning after "an extensive search", which reportedly involved 600 police officers, the interior ministry said. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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