Elshani: Minor incident on promenade; student was provoking and showing three fingers, released with a warning

Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the Northern Region, Veton Elshani, confirmed to Kosovo Online that an incident occurred today on the promenade in North Mitrovica involving a high school graduate from the local Gymnasium.

Elshani stated that the student parade and celebration had been reported to the police in advance, and officers were present to perform their duty of securing the event.

“As the group moved along the promenade, the student made a three-finger gesture toward people sitting at the lower end of the promenade and provoked those having coffee. The police intervened and told him not to provoke others. Regarding the video circulating on social media, I must point out that the red marks on the boy’s neck are due to paint. There was no blood,” Elshani said, adding that in his view, there was no excessive use of force and that the student was not arrested, but was instead given a verbal warning.

To recall, the incident took place near the main bridge over the Ibar River, in an area where several cafés—owned by Albanians—have opened in recent months. A member of the Kosovo Police was seen in footage lunging at a Serbian high school student and repeatedly grabbing him by the neck.

The graduates were celebrating the end of the school year, and as they walked through the promenade, witnesses say that guests from the cafés—where Albanians were sitting—shouted at them and made the double-headed eagle hand gesture. This can also be seen in videos currently circulating on social media.