Tens of thousands of people protested against violence in their country in the Serbian capital Belgrade and in the northern city of Novi Sad on Monday. The demonstrations were prompted by two large shootings in two days in which a total of seventeen people were killed. The demonstration was organized by opposition parties demanding that ministers resign over last week’s two massacres.
Read also: Serbian president wants to completely disarm the country after two deadly shootings in two days
Serbia’s education minister resigned on Sunday over the two shootings, but protesters say more ministers should resign. The opposition parties demanded his resignation because they felt that as the responsible minister he should have prevented the shooting. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called the protest during an interview Monday “shameful”. He accused the opposition of exploiting people’s grief for their political ends and described the organizers as “vultures”.
Last Wednesday, a 13-year-old boy shot and killed eight fellow students and a security guard at his school in Belgrade, Thursday night a man – dressed in a T-shirt with Nazi symbols – shot and killed eight people from his car in Dubona. Fourteen others were injured.