Photo: Beta/Milan Obradovic
The anniversary of the mass shooting at Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School in Belgrade is being marked on May 3 with a commemorative program called "Awakening." At 8:41 a.m. the media in Serbia stopped broadcasting their programs for a minute, in memory of the nine students and school guard whom then 13-year-old K.K. gunned down on May 3 last year.
The commemorative event started at 10 Kralja Milutina Street, where the school is located, at 8:40 a.m., and a portion of that street, dubbed "The Space of Silence," will be closed for traffic until 7:30 p.m., so that citizens may pay their respects to the victims. Throughout the day, people will be able to leave flowers, light candles and write in a book of remembrance, in designated spaces.
The school windows and the entire facade on that side of the building are covered by white cloth with blue birds painted on it; several parking spots have been removed so as to expand the space around the entrance, and 10 metal poles of sorts have been installed on the curb.
Near the monument devoted to poet and writer Desanka Maksimovic in Tasmajdan Park, a forum is taking place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., during which citizens will be able to talk with representatives of a multidisciplinary team about matters related to the causes and consequences of the mass shootings of May 3 and 4, 2023. At the same time, a video collage of remembrance for the victims will be played on a specially installed screen close to the monument.
The site of the forum will also include a box for messages, as well as QR codes that will allow citizens to make proposals that will be used in the process of developing ideas for a future memorial center. The final musical and stage program will take place at the Student Cultural Center at 8 p.m., and due to limited space citizens will be able to watch the event on a screen set up in Tasmajdan, as well as in a live broadcast on public service RTS, and cable televisions N1 and Nova S.
K.K., 13, a student of Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School on May 3, 2023 shot and killed nine fellow students and a security worker, and wounded five students and a teacher. The next day, then 21-year-old Uros Blazic killed nine people in the villages of Dubona and Malo Orasje, near Mladenovac, with an automatic rifle.
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