Serbia’s mass shootings prompt national reckoning for war-scarred nation

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — When a 13-year-old boy last week opened fire on his fellow students in a school in Belgrade, and a day later a man killed people at random in villages south of the Serbian capital, the country came to a standstill. One question was on everyone’s mind: How can this be happening to us? The answer, however, could be closer to home than many care to admit. From the wars of the 1990s to the brutal slaying of Serbia’s first democratically elected prime minister in 2003, the Balkan nation’s recent history has been overwhelmed with conflict and crises that experts say have left a deep mark on the entire society.