Eight Students, Security Guard Killed As Teenage Boy Opens Fire In Serbian School

At least eight students and a security guard were killed in shooting at a primary school in Serbia. The suspect, a seventh-grade student, has been arrested.

Several students were wounded after a teenage boy opened fire in a primary school in Serbia's capital city Belgrade

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New Delhi: At least eight children were and a security guard were killed after a teenage boy opened fire in a primary school in Serbia's capital city Belgrade on Wednesday morning, British news website BBC reported, citing Serbian police. 

Police received a call about the shooting in the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school around 8.40 am, they said in a statement.

According to the police, the suspect, a 14-year-old seventh-grade student, has been arrested, adding that the boy apparently fired several shots from his father's gun at other students and the school guard, reported AP.

Casualties are being treated and an investigation into the motives behind the shooting is underway, police said in a statement, reported news agency Reuters.

AP citing the Serbian media reported that the guard was killed in the shooting. Reports said terrified parents have arrived at the school trying to find their children.

Local media footage from the scene showed commotion outside the school as police removed the suspect, whose head was covered as officers led him to a car parked in the street, according to AP.

Milan Milosevic, the father of one of the pupils at the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school, said his daughter was in the classroom when the shooting began, reported Reuters.

"She managed to escape. (The boy) ...first shot the teacher and then he started shooting randomly," Milosevic told broadcaster N1, according to Reuters.

"I saw the security guard lying under the table. I saw two girls with blood on their shirts. They say he (the shooter) was quiet and a good pupil. He recently joined their class," added Milosevic, who had rushed to the school after the shooting.

Police sealed off the blocks around the Vladislav Ribnikar school, in the centre of Belgrade. Primary schools in Serbia have eight grades.

According to AP, mass shootings in Serbia are extremely rare. Experts, however, have repeatedly warned of the number of weapons left over in the country after the wars of the 1990s.