Basketball star, Luka Doncic has offered to pay for the funerals of eight children and a security guard killed by a 13-year-old in a mass school shooting in Belgrade, Serbia.
Slovenian star Doncic, who has family connections to Serbia on his father’s side, was left ‘heartbroken’ by the shooting and is determined to help the school and families affected.
The Dallas Mavericks star signed a $ 207 million contract extension in 2021 to stay in Texas until 2027 and he is eager to use his fortune to help the grieving city of Belgrade now.
Kosta Kecmanovic, 13, identified by police as the suspected shooter, opened fire in his classroom at a Belgrade school on Wednesday, Serbian police revealed.
Eight pupils and a security guard at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in the Serbian capital were killed, marking the nation’s first mass school shooting.
‘I am heartbroken by the tragic school shooting in Serbia and the loss of lives, including those of innocent children,’ Doncic said on Twitter.
‘I am exploring both immediate and long-term ways to support the students, faculty, and families affected by the shooting.’
The Slovenian four-time NBA All-Star plans to provide ‘long-term assistance’ to those impacted, a Mavericks spokesman added.
‘I am committed and I will continue to share updates and ways to support as details become available,’ said Doncic.
Kecmanovic, 13, has been arrested for killing eight children and a guard but it is feared the death toll could rise, with at least seven others injured.
The teenager, who may not be legally responsible for his actions due to being under the age of 14, was arrested in the Vladislav Ribnikar primary schoolyard and led away with his face covered after he called police himself.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that both the boy’s parents have also been arrested, and that he is to be taken to a psychiatric institution.
The shooter drew up plans for the massacre over a month, making sketches of classrooms which looked like a ‘horror movie’, Belgrade’s police chief, Veselin Milic, revealed.
He was armed with two guns and two petrol bombs and had planned everything meticulously, even compiling a list with the names of children he wanted to kill and their classes, according to Milic.
