Police investigators work on the web site of a capturing in Cetinje, situated 22 miles west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025.
Risto Bozovic/AP
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Risto Bozovic/AP
CETINJE, Montenegro — Shock and dismay prevailed in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 individuals, together with two youngsters, in a western city earlier than killing himself.
At the least 4 others have been wounded within the capturing rampage in Cetinje on Wednesday that adopted a bar brawl, officers mentioned. This was the second such incident within the city up to now three years.
The shooter, recognized as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the proprietor of the bar, the bar proprietor’s youngsters and his circle of relatives members, officers have mentioned.
The attacker, who first fled after the rampage, was later situated and surrounded by police. He died after capturing himself within the head, Inside Minister Danilo Šaranović mentioned.
Residents of Cetinje have been surprised and grief-stricken. Vanja Popović, whose family members are among the many victims, mentioned that “we’re all in shock.”
“How can I really feel after this?” Popović mentioned. “Nobody anticipated it. You may’t even ask anybody something.”
Police had dispatched a particular unit to seek for the attacker within the city, which is situated about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Podgorica, the capital. All roads out and in of town have been blocked for hours as police swarmed the streets.
Šaranović mentioned that the shooter had died whereas being taken to a hospital within the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his accidents.”
Officers have mentioned that the attacker was on the bar all through the day with different company when the brawl erupted. He then went dwelling, introduced again a weapon and opened hearth at round 5:30 p.m.
Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić mentioned Thursday that the attacker went to 6 areas throughout the capturing rampage, together with the final one, the place he shot himself.
4 males have been killed on the bar, Nastić mentioned. The shooter then moved on to a different location the place he killed 4 extra individuals, after which two youngsters at a 3rd web site. He then went on to kill two extra individuals at two different areas earlier than ultimately capturing himself, Nastić mentioned.
“Additional investigation will decide the precise circumstances of the occasions,” she added.
The federal government has declared three days of nationwide mourning beginning on Thursday, and all deliberate New Yr’s festivities have been canceled all through the nation.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić mentioned that the federal government could attempt to impose a complete ban on weapons “as a result of we should ask ourselves after this who must be allowed to have weapons in Montenegro.”
The small Adriatic Sea nation, which has a inhabitants of round 620,000 individuals, is understood for its gun tradition and many individuals historically have weapons.
In August 2022 in Cetinje, which is Montenegro’s historic capital, an attacker killed 10 individuals, together with two youngsters, earlier than he was shot and killed by a passerby.
Police have mentioned that the suspect in Wednesday’s capturing acquired a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent habits and had appealed his newest conviction for unlawful weapons possession. Montenegrin media have reported that he was identified for erratic and violent habits.
“As a substitute of vacation pleasure … we’ve been gripped by disappointment over the lack of harmless lives,” Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović mentioned in a submit on X.
