TWO BUS WINDOWS SHATTERED, LUCKILY NO CHILDREN WERE INJURED

BRČKO, JULY 14 /SRNA/ – Mladen Nikolić, the president of the Serb Cultural and Artistic Society /KUD/ from Krepšić near Brčko, says two windows were shattered on the bus that was stoned in Tinja near Srebrenik, and that it was pure luck no children were injured, as shattered glass was scattered everywhere.

Nikolić told the press the bus belongs to a local transport company and had no markings except a sign reading "special transport". The attack happened on Friday, July 11, around 11:20 PM, as they were returning from Petrovo, where they have performed for the past 12 years at the St. Peter's Day Concert.

"Right before entering the populated area of Tinja, we felt a strange impact on the left rear side of the bus, where most of the children were seated. I thought perhaps we had been grazed by a truck during an overtake, but then there was another dull thud. When the driver stopped about a hundred meters later, we saw that two windows had been shattered," he recounted.

Nikolić added that the first window shattered completely and that a stone, about the size of half a brick, remained inside the bus.

He explained that the dispatcher instructed the driver to leave the scene immediately not to stop before reaching Brčko, since children were involved and were already quite shaken.

"Although shattered glass was scattered all over the children, luckily none of the 24 were injured. We managed to calm them down and move them to the front of the bus. Soon after, while driving, the second window scattered under pressure, and that’s how we arrived in Brčko," Nikolić said.

The Brčko District Police have announced today that a transport company from Brčko reported damage to a bus in the Srebrenik municipality area, and that, in cooperation with the Tuzla Canton Ministry of Interior, intensive efforts are underway to identify the perpetrators and clarify the entire case.