Serbia extends deadline for handing over illegal guns
Serbia's Interior Ministry extended the deadline for residents to surrender illegal weapons without legal consequences until the end of June, local media reported on Thursday.
People can surrender weapons and ammunition to the police without explaining their origin or they can request police to retrieve the guns from a specified location. As of last week, Serbian citizens have surrendered 67,000 illegal weapons and explosive devices to law enforcement. Starting next month, non-compliance could result in up to 15 years of imprisonment.
The country initiated this campaign on May 7 in response to two tragic shooting incidents in public places in the capital city of Belgrade and its surrounding. On May 3, a teenager fatally shot eight schoolchildren and a security guard at a school in Belgrade downtown while injuring six more children and a teacher. Two days later, a 21-year-old man opened fire in the municipality of Mladenovac, killing eight people and wounding 14 others.