Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić slammed the shooting and arson in front of the country's parliament building in central Belgrade on Wednesday, in which one person was injured, condemning what he said was an "awful terrorist attack".
A 70-year-old man who fired a gun toward one of the tents at a tent camp in front of the parliament, shooting a person, and then set the tents on fire was quickly apprehended, according to officials.
The tent camp was pitched by Vučić's supporters in March as an answer to student-led protests that have gripped Serbia for nearly a year.
Vučić told a press conference in Belgrade on Wednesday that the perpetrator “used a firearm with an aim to cause public danger and was undoubtfully politically motivated.”
Vučić also showed video footage of the incident and the alleged shooter confessing upon arrest that he wanted police to kill him, and that he was “annoyed by the tents” in Belgrade.
Footage showed the fire breaking out in a tent after a series of popping sounds that resembled gunfire. Several police officers around the tent camp drew their guns and told people to take cover.
“It was a matter of time when this would happen,” said Vučić. “There were countless calls for this (shooting),” he added.
Serbia’s Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar said one person suffered serious injuries after being shot by a “man who thinks differently,” but did not further elaborate on this statement.
The suspect is facing charges of attempted murder, causing public danger and illegal weapons possession, police said.
The incident comes ahead of the 1 November rally marking the first anniversary of a deadly concrete awning collapse at a train station in the northern regional capital of Novi Sad, killing 16, triggering massive nationwide student-led anti-graft protests.
