Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic on October 22 blamed opposition groups for what he described as a “terrorist act” outside the National Assembly in Belgrade, after a 70-year-old man opened fire on a camp of government supporters and set fire to one of their tents, injuring one person.

Police said the suspect, identified only as V.A., approached the tent settlement known as “Ćaciland” on October 22, shot a 57-year-old man in the leg and then ignited a blaze by firing at a gas canister. The explosion set one tent alight before police subdued and arrested him.

Vucic said in a nationally televised address that the attack was “unequivocally politically motivated” and the result of “hatred incited by opposition politicians and the media.” He called the incident “a terrorist act on other people and property”.

“This could have happened in any Serbian city,” Vucic said. “If they could, they would burn us all.”

A transcript of the suspect’s police interrogation shows the man saying he acted alone because the tents “annoyed” him and that he wanted the police to kill him. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” he told officers, adding that he was bothered by the encampment in the city centre.

Vucic suggested the attacker may have been pretending to be mentally unstable. “He knew exactly what he was doing,” the president said.

The wounded man, Milan Bogdanovic, underwent surgery and was in stable condition, Vucic said after visiting him in hospital. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside parliament late on October 22 holding a large banner that read “We are all Milan.”

Government officials, including Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and Deputy Prime Minister Sinisa Mali, also condemned the attack and blamed the opposition.

“This is a direct consequence of the hatred that anti-state forces have been spreading systematically for the past year,” Gasic said. Mali described the assailant as a “blockader”, a term used for anti-government protesters who have staged road and media blockades over the past year.

The shooting comes amid months of political tension and near-daily demonstrations in Serbia following a deadly infrastructure collapse in Novi Sad late last year. Vucic’s opponents accuse his government of corruption and media manipulation, while his supporters say the protests are attempts to destabilise the state.

Interior ministry officials said V.A. faces charges of attempted murder and terrorism. The suspect has no prior record of mental illness or criminal offenses, police said.