Zagreb, 30 December 2024 (dpa/MIA) - A court in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Monday handed down stiff prison terms to the parents of a minor who massacred his fellow pupils at a Belgrade school in the spring of 2023.

The father of the boy, who was 13 at the time, received 14.5 years, and the mother three years, state broadcaster RTS reported.

The student shot nine classmates and a security guard with two of his father's pistols in the incident, which caused deep shocked in the Balkan country.

A day later, on May 4, a man also shot dead eight people in a rampage in two villages on the outskirts of Belgrade. There was no connection to the school shooting.

The sentences passed on Monday are not yet final, and the public prosecutor announced an appeal immediately after the judgement was announced.

The perpetrator of the school massacre was not of criminal age under Serbian law at the time of the crime. He is currently being held in a psychiatric institution.

The court in Belgrade convicted the father of seriously endangering public safety and neglecting a minor in need of protection, while the mother was charged only for the latter offence.

An employee of a shooting range was also sentenced to 15 months in prison for perjury.

According to the court, he had tried to exonerate the father by making false statements. Both parents declared their innocence during the trial.

MIA file photo