| Sanski Most school shooting | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | Sanski Most Gymasium, Sanski Most, Una-Sana Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Coordinates | 44°46′4″N 16°39′27″E / 44.76778°N 16.65750°E |
| Date | August 21, 2024 c. 10:15 a.m. |
Attack type | School shooting, mass shooting |
| Weapon | Automatic rifle |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Injured | 1 (the perpetrator) |
| Perpetrator | Mehemed Vukalić[1] |
| Motive | Under investigation, possibly retaliation for personal disputes |
On August 21, 2024, a school shooting occurred inside the Sanski Most Gymnasium,[2] located in Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the school janitor, 62-year-old Mehemed Vukalić, opened fire on three school employees with an automatic rifle. After the shooting, he attempted to commit suicide, but was captured while doing so and taken into medical custody.
Background
[edit]Small arms and weapons have been frequently trafficked in the Balkans since the Yugoslav Wars. Per a 2010 study executed by the United Nations Development Programme, there were around 750,000 illegally owned weapons in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2] Mass shootings are a relatively rare occurrence in the Balkans, but they had lately seen a small rise, including the Daruvar shooting in neighboring Croatia and the Mladenovac and Smederevo shootings and Belgrade school shooting, both in neighboring Serbia.[3]
Some school employees reported that the suspect had entered into disputes with the school management[2] and was suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Bosnian War.[3]
Shooting
[edit]At around 10:15 a.m. on August 21, 2024, the school janitor, 62-year-old Mehemed Vukalić, opened fire on employees with an automatic rifle, killing three people, before attempting to commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest.[4] He survived his self-inflicted wound and was taken into custody.
Victims
[edit]The deceased victims were identified as:[2]
- Nijaz Halilović, school director
- Gordana Midžan, English teacher
- Nisveta Kljunić, secretary
Aftermath
[edit]A day after the shooting, Vukalić was in stable condition after undergoing surgery.[5]
A three-day period of mourning was declared in Sanski Most because of the shooting.[6]
In December 2024, Mehemed Vukalić pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of illegal possession of weapons.[7] His trial is ongoing as of June 2025.[8]
See also
[edit]- Valparaíso school shootings, a 1999 mass shooting with a similar motive and duplicate fatality count
References
[edit]- ^ "Ovo je domar koji je ubio direktora, profesorku i sekretaricu u gimnaziji u Sanskom Mostu (Foto)". Nova.rs (in Serbian). 2024-08-21.
- ^ a b c d "Three teachers killed in Bosnia school shooting". euronews. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ^ a b "Three staff killed in shooting in school in Bosnia". SWI swissinfo.ch. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ^ "School employee kills at least 3 people in a Bosnian town, police say". AP News. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ^ "SANSKI MOST SHOOTING SUSPECT STABLE AFTER SURGERY". SRNA. August 22, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ "U Sanskom Mostu trodnevna žalost zbog trostrukog ubistva". Al Jazeera Balkans (in Bosnian). 22 August 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
- ^ Fokus.ba (2024-12-18). "Mehmed Vukalić se izjasnio o krivici za trostruko ubistvo u školi". Fokus.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "Nastavljeno suđenje Mehemedu Vukaliću za trostruko ubistvo u Sanskom Mostu". Federalna. Retrieved 2025-06-28.