Seventy-year-old Vladan Andjelkovic is suspected of shooting and wounding a supporter of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in front of the parliament building in Belgrade yesterday, in an incident for which Vučić blamed his political opponents.
Vučić stated at a press conference that the shooting was an act of terrorism and showed two police recordings in which the arrested man says that he brought a can of gasoline into one of the tents set up in the area by Vučić's supporters because they were bothering him.
"I did it so that (the police) would kill me. I didn't know anyone in the tents. I'm from Belgrade, and this (the tents) bothers me, I don't like the occupation of the city center," Andjelkovic said in the video.
He stated that he acted independently.
Mass street protests against Vučić were sparked after a canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad train station last November, killing 16 people, which many blame on government negligence and corruption.
Yesterday's shooting took place in Pionirski Park between the parliament building and Vučić's office, where his supporters had set up a makeshift camp, the so-called Ćacilend, to prevent protesters from approaching those buildings.
Vučić said that Andđelković entered one of the tents carrying a metal canister of gasoline, and that Milan Bogdanović, a supporter of the government, peeked inside to see what was happening. Andđelković then shot at him, and Bogdanović fell to the ground.
Video footage verified by Reuters shows a man limping away from the scene, before the tent bursts into flames. Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar told reporters that Bogdanovic had a serious injury and would need urgent surgery.
Vučić stated that this incident shows the risks posed by protests.
“There is no doubt that there is a political motivation behind all this,” he said. “It is a miracle that we have not had a single victim in the past eleven months.”
He added that the opposition's campaign against the tents set up in front of parliament influenced Andjelković.
"Why did I say this was a terrorist act - firearms were used, the goal was to cause general danger, and there was also a political motive, because he said the tents were bothering him," Vučić said.
He also said that he was an "experienced man" who had worked in the State Security for 16 years, specifying that the arrested person was currently retired.
Vučić said that it was only a matter of time before this would happen because "hatred was shown towards those who occupied only one point, unlike those who occupied thousands of points across the country."
"I call on everyone in Serbia to understand this as the last incident... there must be no reaction to this, except for the reaction of state authorities," he added.
Chief Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović announced that the person who used the weapon in Čaciland is suspected of the criminal offense of "attempted murder."
"Regarding this morning's event in front of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, VA, born in 1955, was arrested by order of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that after a verbal argument, due to different political views, he took out a firearm that he was carrying without authorization and fired several projectiles, one of which hit another person in the thigh area, and the other into a gas cylinder that was located nearby, which caused an explosion and fire," Stefanović stated.
He pointed out that the timely and efficient action of members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia prevented a major tragedy and that the suspect was identified and arrested as soon as possible.
"The suspect VA has been ordered to be detained for up to 48 hours due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that he committed the criminal offenses of 'attempted murder', 'illegal possession, carrying and trafficking of weapons and explosives', as well as 'causing general danger', within which time he will be brought in for questioning," Stefanović announced.
Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut assessed that a serious and politically motivated incident occurred in front of the Parliament, and expressed deep concern about it. He said in a statement that this attack represents a serious and unacceptable act of violence, which deserves the strongest condemnation, his office announced.
Green-Left Front (ZLF) MP Radomir Lazović stated that President Vučić was the only one who wanted violence in order to accuse the opposition, students or citizens of it.
He also told Beta that the editorial staff of the pro-government newspaper Informer had already accused all opposition politicians, including him, even though he had not been in Belgrade or Serbia for several days. He also said that it was particularly bizarre that he himself had been accused, as he was in Strasbourg at a session of the European Parliament (EP) at the time of the incident.
"Although I have no doubt that the regime will use this incident to divert attention from adopting the resolution, the EP cannot mitigate or hide its responsibility. The text of the resolution condemns the regime in Serbia for inciting violence, explicitly for installing Ćaciland, for state violence, police repression and everything that has happened in the past months," said Lazović.
He added that they had made great progress in Strasbourg in their intention to have "the whole of Europe condemn the violence of the authorities in Serbia."
The EP adopted yesterday the resolution on "Polarization and Increased Repression in Serbia, One Year After the Novi Sad Tragedy" which supports the right of Serbian students and citizens to peaceful protests, strongly condemns the wave of state-sponsored violence, intimidation and indiscriminate arrests and assesses that the Serbian leadership is politically responsible for the escalation of repression, the normalization of violence and the weakening of democratic institutions in the country, Beta reported.
The resolution was adopted with 457 votes "for", 103 "against" and 72 abstentions at the EP plenary session in Strasbourg.
The resolution, which MPs debated the day before yesterday, also condemns the ruling party's actions in organizing the illegal camp in Pioneer Park, as well as the arbitrary and politically motivated use of presidential pardons for persons prosecuted for violence against students.
It is also stated that MEPs support the deployment of an ad hoc fact-finding mission to Serbia, with the participation of the EP, and call on the European Commission to launch an initiative for targeted individual sanctions against those responsible for serious violations of the law and human rights.
Democratic Party President Srđan Milivojević stated that the adoption of the resolution was "an absolute collapse of Aleksandar Vučić's policies", and regarding the events in Ćaciland, he said that they were being orchestrated by Vučić and with the aim of suppressing "this magnificent resolution".
Milivojević told N1 in Strasbourg that Vučić will not see the end of his term with Ćacilenda and that "that moral den" will be removed before the end of Vučić's term, which, he added, will not be glorious.
The Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) announced that the EP, with its resolution on Serbia, stood by the citizens of Serbia, just like the European Union.
"The EP resolution is a clear confirmation that the EU has recognized the corrupt and authoritarian character of the government in Serbia, and assessed it as a great diplomatic success of the pro-European opposition forces," it states.
PSG also assessed that this is a victory for the citizens of Serbia who have been bravely protesting against violence and injustice for months.
"The EP said that Serbia is going through a deep social and political crisis, condemned the brutality of the regime, attacks on the media, arrests of citizens and police repression of demonstrators," it said.
The PSG also stated that "it is particularly significant that the resolution was supported by almost all political groups, including those that previously protected the Serbian Progressive Party."
The president of the People's Movement of Serbia (NPS), Miroslav Aleksić, assessed that the tent settlement in front of the Serbian Parliament is a threat to the general security of all citizens of Serbia and that Vučić's regime must be held accountable for the incident.
"Ćaciland burned down. There was shooting and bullet explosions. All citizens, including children, who were passing through were in danger. Those responsible for what happened must immediately resign and elections must be called as soon as possible, because today we do not know who, where and how could get hurt," said Aleksić.
The Movement for Overturning (PZP) has demanded that the tents near the Parliament be removed due to what they claim is a high probability of criminal activity taking place there. They added that instead of being removed, the camp should remain as an “oasis of lawlessness under the protection of the regime,” from which, they claim, a government based on violence and crime is being defended.
The Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) warned that party MP Marinika Tepić has received death threats for publishing a video of yesterday's incident.
In a statement, they called on the Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime to respond urgently and determine who is behind the "Mladen Krajisnik" order and the death threats to the party's MP.
"The threats are a direct consequence of the regime's dirty campaign, which has been led since this morning by Informer, led by Dragan J. Vučićević, and their propaganda machinery, which is preparing the ground for Aleksandar Vučić."
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