Rather than a nice bottle or candles, a man brought a pomegranate to a party in Knin, southern Croatia, on Saturday evening. Unfortunately, after its explosion, one person was killed and four others injured, according to police this Sunday.
According to the first elements of the investigation, a 25-year-old man had taken out a hand grenade during the party and had handed it to another person. Improper handling caused the grenade to explode, killing one man and injuring four other people, including a minor, according to police.
“Fewer weapons, fewer tragedies”
The injured were hospitalized in Knin and their condition is stable, a hospital source said. An investigation was opened to establish the circumstances of the acquisition and possession of the explosive device.
Knin, where the explosion occurred, was one of the main battlefields during the Croatian war of independence from the former Yugoslavia (1991-1995). Croatian police have been running a campaign for years called “Fewer Guns, Fewer Tragedies,” which aims to encourage citizens to hand in their illegal weapons and ammunition in order to reduce violence and weapons-related incidents.
Since the beginning of 2024, the police of the Sibenik-Knin department, where the town of Knin is located, have counted 5,091 cases of voluntary surrender of weapons and explosive devices. The police thus collected 33 firearms, 4,986 various ammunition, 32 explosive devices and 18.4 kg of explosives. As part of police operations, 60 firearms, 999 ammunition, 134 pyrotechnic devices and 1.5 kg of explosives were seized.
