CETINJE, Montenegro — In Montenegro, there was shock and sadness following a tragic event where a gunman shot and killed 12 individuals, including two children, in a town in the west before taking his own life.
After a bar fight, a shooting took place in Cetinje on Wednesday, leaving at least four others injured. Officials revealed that this was the town’s second similar incident in the last three years.
Hundreds gathered on Thursday evening at the main square in Cetinje for a candlelight vigil in the memory of the victims.
Police Commissioner Lazar epanovi described Wednesday’s shooting as “one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Montenegro.”
He said at a news conference that the victims included seven men, three women and two children, born in 2011 and 2016.
“The majority of the victims were individuals he was familiar with, such as his close friends and family members,” stated epanovi. “The tragic act was not premeditated or coordinated; it caught everyone by surprise.”
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinovi, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, officials have said.
The attacker, who first fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. He died after shooting himself in the head, police said.
Residents of Cetinje, a town of some 17,000 people, were stunned and grief-stricken.
“I knew all of these people personally, also the attacker. I think when he did that, he was out of his mind,” said Vesko Miloevi, a retiree from Cetnje. “What do I know, he went from place to place and killed people. Its a catastrophe.”
Vanja Popovi, whose relatives are among the victims, said that “we are all in shock.”
“How can I feel after this?” Popovi said. “No one expected it. You can’t even ask anyone anything.”
Police had dispatched a special unit to search for the attacker in the town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Podgorica, the country’s capital. All roads in and out of Cetinje were blocked for hours as police swarmed the streets.
Police said that the shooter had died while being taken to a hospital in the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his injuries.”
Officials have said that the attacker was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted. He then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.
Prosecutor Andrijana Nasti said Thursday that the attacker went to six locations during the shooting rampage, including the last one, where he shot himself.
Four men were killed at the bar, she said. The shooter then moved on to another location where he killed four more people, and then two children at a third site. He then went on to kill two more people at two other locations before eventually shooting himself, Nasti said.
“Further investigation will determine the exact circumstances of the events,” she added.
The government has declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday, and all planned New Year’s festivities have been canceled throughout the country.
Prime Minister Milojko Spaji said that the government may try to impose a total ban on weapons “because we must ask ourselves after this who should be allowed to have guns in Montenegro.”
The small Adriatic Sea nation, which has a population of around 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
In August 2022 in Cetinje, which is Montenegro’s historic capital, an attacker killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby.
Police have said that the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and had appealed his latest conviction for illegal weapons possession. Montenegrin media have reported that he was known for erratic and violent behavior.
“Instead of holiday joy … we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovi said in a post on X.
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Duan Stojanovi contributed to this report from Belgrade, Serbia.
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