According to accounts, a juvenile started shooting in a school in the Serbian city of Belgrade shortly after classes began on Wednesday morning, killing eight children and a security officer and wounding many more.
The youngster, a 13-year-old school student, allegedly planned the attack on crumpled pieces of paper, which officials exhibited at a solemn press conference.
They claimed he called the police himself after the shootings.
The rare and probably unprecedented event sent shockwaves across the local community and beyond in a country with solid gun restrictions but high levels of gun ownership.
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The shooting was initially reported when students arrived at Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School, a well-known institution in Vraar, Belgrade's affluent suburb. In a hurry, parents rushed to the scene.
According to Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Mili, one boy and seven girls were killed along with the security guard.
Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said six more children and one teacher were hospitalized.
"Because it was near the entrance of the school," the suspect explained. He began a fire in a history classroom.
Mili stated that he first killed the security guard and then went to another classroom, where she shot some of his classmates.
The adolescent then dialled 911 and waited to be detained in the schoolyard.
The alleged gunman was afterwards seen being handcuffed out of the school, wearing a jacket over his head and blue, slim trousers.
Police officers escorted him away in an unmarked police car.
The suspect's father was also apprehended, according to Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic. It had previously been reported that he had gone to a shooting range with his child, who was first identified as 14.
According to Gasic, the boy carried two guns from home. Serbia has a high level of gun ownership following its conflict with Kosovo in the 1990s; a 2018 survey indicated that the country had the third highest level of gun ownership in the world, tied with Montenegro and trailing only the United States and Yemen.
According to Reuters, the government has strong gun laws and has provided amnesties for owners to turn in or register illegal firearms. Therefore, major shootings are uncommon.
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