Date 13 August 2003 Deaths 2 (1 adult, 1 child) | Target Kosovo Serb teenagers Non-fatal injuries 4 | |
Location Goraždevac, Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia Attack type Murder, attempted mass murder, using firearms | ||
The Goraždevac murders occurred on 13 August 2003, when six ethnic Serbs, mostly children, were shot in the village of Goraždevac in Kosovo. The attack resulted in two deaths: one adult and one teenage child.
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Attack
In August 2003, a large group of Serb children from the Serb enclave of Goraždevac, close to Peć, gathered on the banks of the river Bistrica. As the children played and swam in the river, shots were fired from the Albanian village of Zahač. 19-year-old Ivan Jovović died instantly, while 13-year-old Pantelija Dakić later died in the hospital. 11-year old Marko Bogićević and 15-year-old Bogdan Bukumirović were seriously injured, while Dragana Srbljak and Đorđe Ugrenović suffered from minor injuries. The killings were reportedly timed to coincide with the return of over 200 Serb refugees into the town.
Condemnation
Two days after the attack, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Živković attended the funeral service for the two killed teens and the Serbian government declared 15 August a day of national mourning. Moreover, it was immediately condemned by the UNMIK, KFOR, Kosovo Albanian officials, the EU, Russia, France and the United States, the perpetrators were not found.
Desacration of memorial
In January 2013, during a period of unrest throughout Kosovo, a memorial to the victims was attacked by vandals.