One man was wounded and an alleged elderly attacker arrested after a shooting and fire at a pro-government camp outside Serbia’s parliament on Wednesday, with the country’s embattled president quick to label it a “terrorist attack”.
A Belgrade pensioner was arrested at the camp after firing multiple shots and setting a tent on fire, President Aleksandar Vucic told a press conference hours after the incident.
Vucic said the use of a gun against his supporters made the motivation “unmistakable” and “in my political assessment, a horrific terrorist attack”.
Officials confirmed the victim was undergoing surgery following the shooting.
At a well-organised press conference, Vucic played several videos of the incident and purported confession of the alleged attacker, showing a man in police custody claiming to be behind the shooting.
Although police were at the press conference, they did not provide further details about the investigation or whether formal charges had been made against the man.
Earlier, a video posted online appeared to show the incident unfolding with armed police confronting someone near a large white tent before flames erupted from its top.
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The blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters, with the charred remains of the tent visible from a police blockade near the scene, according to an AFP reporter.
The improvised camp of Vucic loyalists has been blocking roads outside the parliament and a nearby park for months in a show of support for the president, who has faced almost a year of protests against his government.
Vucic said he had long expected an attack would target his supporters and accused “certain media and politicians” of propagating hatred against goverment supporters.
But he urged people not to retaliate.
“Revenge has never brought anyone any good.”
Regular protests have gripped Serbia since November after a railway station roof collapse killed 16 people.
The tragedy at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city of Novi Sad became a symbol of entrenched corruption.
Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.
“Our path has never been a path of violence,” the student-led protest group posted on social media following the incident, along with a heart emoji and a short video showing a student walk along a route in Serbia.
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