BELGRADE, May 5. /TASS/. A two-year moratorium on issuing permits for carrying and keeping firearms will be introduced in Serbia, the country’s president Aleksandar Vucic said in an address to the nation on Friday.

"The fewer firearms there are, the less danger there will be for our children and citizens. The Interior Ministry should urgently take all measures to impose a moratorium on the issuance of permits for keeping and carrying any kind of arms for the next two years, including hunting weapons," the president said.

"The Interior Ministry should <...> issue a call to all people who own weapons to surrender their weapons within a month without any consequences [for them]. If they do not hand them over, the consequences will be dire," Vucic said, noting that carrying weapons illegally without a permit would be punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

In addition, the president instructed the Justice Ministry to "increase the penalty for the illegal sale, possession and carrying of weapons for which a permit can be obtained to eight years," and for the possession, carrying and sale of weapons "for which no permit can be obtained, such as the Kalashnikov rifle," to 12 years in prison. In addition, Vucic announced increased fines for carrying around "dangerous objects," such as pocket knives.

On May 3, a teenager opened fire on his peers at a school in downtown Belgrade. The shooting resulted in nine casualties: eight schoolchildren and a security guard. Another six children and a teacher were wounded and are now in the hospital. According to Serbian media reports, a boy, 13, arrived at the school with two pistols and Molotov cocktails. Vucic later stated that the shooter would be sent to a psychiatric hospital because he could not be prosecuted due to his young age.

On Friday night, a young man born in 2002 opened fire with an assault rifle in the municipality of Mladenovac, killing eight people and wounding 14. After a long chase, the shooter was arrested. Police are investigating the circumstances of the shooting. A three day mourning period was declared in Serbia following the attack.