According to reports, Serbian citizens have surrendered over 13,000 weapons, including rocket launchers and grenades, in response to two recent mass shootings.
The Serbian government announced the one-month anmesty on May 8 as a way to mitigate any further incidents after the recent shootings claimed the lives of 17 and injured 21 others.
President Aleksandar Vucic told residents that anyone caught with an illegal firearm after the amnesty is lifted could face up to 15 years in prison.
“After June 8, the state will respond with repressive measures and punishments will be very strict,” Vucic said, per the Associated Press. “What does anyone need an automatic weapon for? Or all these guns?”
This is in response to the country's first school shooting which occurred when a 13-year-old took his father's guns to school and opened fire killing a total of 9 people. Just a day later, a 20-year-old man opened fire with an automatic weapon gunning down eight people and wounding 14 near a village in central Serbia.
Source: Apnews.com
