At least eight people have been killed and 13 injured in a drive-by style shooting in Serbia as police hunt for the gunman, state TV reported.
Police are searching for a 21-year-old suspect identified only as U.B. in a manhunt dubbed Operation Whirlwind.
After an argument near a school in Mladenovac, some 50km south of the capital Belgrade, the suspect came back with an assault rifle, opened fire and continued to shoot at people at random from a moving car on Thursday night, according to local media.
It is the second mass killing in Serbia in two days.
Serbian interior minister Bratislav Gasic described the shooting as a “terrorist act”, Serbian news portal Telegraf reported, without providing further detail.
No other details were immediately available, and police had not issued any statements.
Near the village of Dubona, not far from Mladenovac, a Reuters witness saw heavily armed police establishing a checkpoint and searching incoming traffic.
A helicopter, drones and multiple police patrols also searched for the suspect among the hills and forests around Dubona.
On Wednesday, a 13-year-old boy opened fire at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in Belgrade killing eight children and a security guard.
Police said the boy had used two handguns he had taken from his father, had planned the attack for a month and had drew sketches of classrooms and made lists of the children he planned to kill.
The shooting also left seven people hospitalised – six children and a teacher. One girl who was shot in the head remains in a life-threatening condition, and a boy is in serious condition with spinal injuries, doctors said on Thursday morning.
Authorities said the 13-year-old is too young to be charged and tried and has been placed in a psychiatric institution. The boy’s father and mother have also been arrested.
The country’s first mass school shooting prompted the government to announce tougher rules on gun ownership.
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Two children remain in critical condition after Serbian school shooting
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic announced a moratorium on new gun licences except those for hunting, and a review of existing permits, with more surveillance of shooting ranges and of how people store their weapons.
Police urged citizens to lock up their guns and keep them safe, away from children.
On Thursday, thousands of people gathered in central Belgrade to lay flowers and light candles to commemorate those killed in the shooting on Wednesday morning.
A three-day mourning period will begin on Friday morning.
Gun culture is widespread in Serbia and elsewhere in the Balkans: The region is among the top in Europe in the number of guns per capita.
