In a western Montenegrin city, at least 10 individuals, including two children, were fatally shot, and four others sustained severe injuries on Wednesday subsequent to a bar altercation, as reported by officials. The perpetrator managed to escape the scene.
The assailant was recognized by police as Aco Martinovic, a 45-year-old individual. According to Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic, he murdered the bar’s proprietor in Cetinje, along with the proprietor’s children and his own family members.
“At this moment, we are focused on arresting him,” Saranovic told reporters.
Following the incident, law enforcement promptly deployed special forces to apprehend the perpetrator in Cetinje, situated approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica. With a heavy police presence flooding the streets, all access points to and from the city have been sealed off.
Saranovic described the suspect as dangerous and appealed on the residents to stay indoors.
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes such people … are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” Saranovic said.
Martinovic was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted, said Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic. He said that Martinovic then went home, brough back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.
“He killed four people” at the bar, before heading out and then continued shooting at three more locations, said Scepanovic. “He tried to take the lives of four more people, and then fled with the vehicle he was using, which we have found.”
He said that the suspect received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and has appealed his latest conviction for illegal possession of weapons. Montenegrin media have reported he was known for erratic and violent behavior.
Small Montenegro, which has some 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby in Cetinje.
President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy … we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on the social media platform X.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning. He said “all police teams” were out searching for the suspect.
“This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” Spajic said.
