At least 12 people killed, including two children, as an armed man went on a shooting rampage after a bar brawl on Wednesday in the central Montenegrin city of Cetinje.
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Montenegrin authorities will consider all options to prevent further gun-related incidents, including a country-wide weapons ban, after a man said to have gone on a shooting spree in the city of Cetinje on Wednesday killed at least 12 people and critically injured four others, PM Milojko Spajić said.
“At the (upcoming) National Security Council meeting, we will urgently look at all options, including a complete ban on gun ownership,” he said.
“Weapons can’t be in the streets and in the hands of those who could hurt others. I will ask our security heads to offer concrete solutions for the safety of our citizens as early as tomorrow,” Spajić added.
Police identified the killer as the 45-year-old Aco Martinović.
Montenegro’s Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović says Martinović went on a shooting spree after a fight broke out at the bar he was at. Police say he shot and killed the bar owner and his children, as well as members of his own family after he left the premises.
Police dispatched its special forces to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located some 30 kilometres northwest of the capital Podgorica. The suspect committed suicide after the police tracked him down and surrounded him, the country’s public prosecutor said.
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes such people … are even more dangerous than members of organised criminal gangs,” Šaranović said.
Authorities say Martinović was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl broke out. Police Commissioner Lazar Šćepanović says the attacker went home and returned to the bar with a weapon, opening fire at around 5:30 pm.
He killed four people at the bar before heading out and then continued shooting at three more locations, said Šćepanović. “He tried to take the lives of four more people, and then fled with the vehicle he was using, which we have found.”
The suspect also appears to have had past run-ins with the law. In 2005, he received a suspended sentence for violent behaviour and appealed his latest conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. Montenegrin media reports say Martinović had built up a reputation for violence and erratic behaviour.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting rampage over a three-year period in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. In mid-2022, an attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, before he was neutralised in a standoff against police and residents.
The small country of some 650,000 is known for its gun culture, with many owning weapons.
Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović said in a post on X that he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy, we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives”.
After the incident, Spajić went to the hospital where the four wounded people were being treated to assess their situation.
The Montenegrin premier announced three days of national mourning, asking for solidarity.
ADVERTISEMENT“Our thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured. As a society, we have to be with them in this moment of deep pain and tragedy.”
