A 45-year-old man is suspected of being behind a shooting in southern Montenegro on Wednesday January 1st. At least 12 deaths have been recorded, including 2 children.
A man opened fire on Wednesday January 1 in southern Montenegro, killing at least 12 people, including 2 children, according to a latest report released by the prosecutor this Thursday January 2. The shooting is not linked to organized crime, according to police.
• At least 12 people killed
On Wednesday, around 4:30 p.m., a man opened fire in a restaurant in the village of Bajice, near the town of Cetinje in western Montenegro. In the establishment, he killed four people.
The man then went to three other locations, where he killed six more people. Among them, a member of his family, the owner of the restaurant and his two children, aged 10 and 13.
Four other people were seriously injured and taken to hospital in the city of Podgorica. Two of them died, according to the latest report communicated by prosecutor Andrijana Nastic this Thursday. In total, the killing took place in five different locations, according to the courts.
• An altercation in a restaurant
According to the first elements of the investigation, the suspect began to open fire in the restaurant where he was “after arguing with a customer with whom he had spent a large part of the day”.
Furthermore, the police indicate that the attacker had “drank large quantities of alcohol” and that he was drunk at the time of the assault.
For the moment, the police are currently favoring the trail of differences and indicated in a press release that the shooting was probably “not the result of a confrontation between groups belonging to organized crime”.
“Each location was inspected and evidence was collected. The work of prosecutors and police is ongoing to determine the circumstances in which (this shooting) took place,” the prosecutor said.
• A 45-year-old man suspected
Regarding the suspect, he was identified as a 45-year-old man named Aleksandar Martinovic, according to the news agency Reuters.
Initially on the run, the man was then identified by the police, notably using a thermal drone. While he was surrounded, he shot himself in the head, police said. Seriously injured, he was taken to hospital and declared dead “during transport”, said Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic.
According to Reuters, which cites local police, the man was known to law enforcement. According to Associated Presshe was given a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and was also convicted of illegal possession of a firearm, but appealed his conviction.
• Three days of national mourning declared
The shooting sent shock waves through the country, where guns are very present in local culture, but where mass shootings are comparatively rare. A previous killing left 11 dead in Cetinje, including the shooter, in 2022.
The government has declared three days of national mourning starting this Thursday. Prime Minister Milojko Spajić described the shooting as a “terrible tragedy”, saying he wanted to strengthen legislation on firearm ownership. “The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes these people are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” he said.
“Instead of the joy of the holidays, we were seized by sadness at the loss of innocent lives,” lamented the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović on X.
Juliette Desmonceaux with agencies
