Shots fired outside the Serbian parliament in a ‘terrorist act’, one detained

One person was hurt Wednesday as gunfire broke out outside Serbia’s parliament building in Belgrade. A big tent outside parliament was approached by armed security guards, according to a video that was shown on the NOVA TV news station. A fire started inside the tent, which was one of several set up this year by President Aleksander Vucic’s supporters during anti-government demonstrations, after a few shots were fired.

Firefighters swiftly put out the fire, according to AFP, and the burned remnants of the tent could be seen from a police barricade next to the scene.

According to information cited by Telegraf.rs, a 70-year-old man shot a 57-year-old guy in the leg before shooting a gas canister into the tent camp. One person was brought to an emergency medical center, while another was arrested, according to the state broadcaster RTS. Reporters were informed by Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar that a guy would require immediate surgery due to a severe wound.

The local police have not confirmed any information and have not yet released a comment on the subject.Police officers encircled a man who was lying on the ground with his hands behind his back in another video that was uploaded on X.

For months, the makeshift camp of Aleksander Vucic’s supporters has blocked roads outside the Serbian parliament and a nearby park as a show of solidarity with the beleaguered president, who has been the target of anti-government protests for nearly a year.

Since November of last year, when 16 people were killed in a railway station roof collapse, Serbia has been engulfed in protests almost every day. The accident at the recently refurbished station in Novi Sad, the second-biggest city in Serbia, came to represent ingrained corruption.

Initially calling for an open investigation, the protesters quickly turned their demands into calls for early elections.