European nation has weapon ultimatum for citizens: Hand over guns and ammo or else

Serbian society is on edge after back-to-back mass shootings left 17 dead in a country where deadly gun violence is rare. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has vowed to rid Serbia of its illegal guns.

A 13-year-old boy armed with his father’s pistol killed nine people, including eight children, at an elementary school in Belgrade on May 3. Just one day later, a 20-year-old killed eight and injured 14 in a rampage through a town just south of Belgrade. 

In response to the twin tragedies, President Aleksandar Vucic set out on a mission to cleanse Serbia of firearms. Unlike most European countries, Serbia has many illegal guns throughout its society. Serbia has been awash in guns and the proliferation of firearms is mostly a legacy of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Serbia is tied for third with Montenegro in gun ownership in the world, behind the United States and Yemen.