CETINJE, Montenegro — Shock and dismay prevailed in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 people, including two children, in a western town before killing himself.
At least four others were wounded in the shooting rampage in Cetinje on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl, officials said.
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, officials have said.
Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić said Thursday that the attacker went to six locations during the shooting rampage, including the last one, where he shot himself.
He then went on to kill two more people at two other locations before eventually shooting himself, Nastić said.
CETINJE, Montenegro — After a shooter shot and killed 12 people, including two children, in a western town on Thursday, after taking his own life, shock and dismay swept through Montenegro.
According to officials, a shooting spree that broke out in Cetinje on Wednesday after a bar fight left at least four other people injured. In the last three years, this was the town’s second such occurrence.
According to officials, the gunman, 45-year-old Aco Martinović, murdered the bar’s owner, his children, and members of his own family.
After the rampage, the attacker initially ran away but was eventually found and surrounded by police. Danilo Šaranović, the interior minister, stated that he shot himself in the head before passing away.
Around 17,000 people live in the town of Cetinje, and its residents were devastated.
“I knew the assailant as well as all of these people personally. Vesko Milošević, a Cetnje retiree, stated, “I believe he was insane when he did that.”. What I do know is that he killed people while moving from place to place. It’s a catastrophe. “.”.
“We are all in shock,” stated Vanja Popović, whose relatives are among the victims. “.”.
“How can I feel now?” Popović asked. Nobody anticipated it. No one can even answer your questions. “.”.
The town, which is roughly 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica, was the target of a special police unit sent to look for the attacker. Police crowded the streets, blocking all roads leading into and out of the city for hours.
The shooter passed away due to the “severity of his injuries” while being transported to a hospital in the capital, according to Šaranović. “”.
According to officials, the attacker spent the entire day at the bar with other patrons when the altercation broke out. Around 5:30 p.m., he returned home, grabbed a gun, and started shooting. M.
During the shooting spree, the attacker visited six locations, including the final one where he shot himself, according to prosecutor Andrijana Nastić’s statement on Thursday.
Nastić reported that four men were killed at the bar. After killing four more people at one site, the gunman proceeded to another and killed two children at a third. After that, he killed two more people at two different places before shooting himself, according to Nastić.
The specific circumstances of the events will be ascertained through additional investigation, she continued.
Every planned New Year’s celebration across the nation has been canceled, and the government has announced a three-day national mourning period beginning on Thursday.
Milojko Spajić, the prime minister, stated that the government might attempt to outlaw all firearms “because we must ask ourselves after this who should be allowed to have guns in Montenegro.”. “”.
There are about 620,000 people living in the small country in the Adriatic Sea, and many of them have historically owned firearms.
An assailant in August 2022 murdered ten people, including two children, in Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro, before he was shot and killed by a bystander.
The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting, according to police, was given a suspended sentence for violent behavior in 2005 and had appealed his most recent conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm. He was notorious for his violent and unpredictable behavior, according to Montenegrin media.
“Instead of the joy . for holidays. In a post on X, President Jakov Milatović of Montenegro stated, “We have been overcome with sorrow over the loss of innocent lives.”
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