At least ten people, including two minors, were killed by an armed man on Wednesday in a restaurant in a village in southern Montenegro, including the owner of the establishment and members of his family, the Minister of Health announced. ‘Interior.
According to the first elements communicated by the government and the police, it was a fight that went wrong and the suspect also killed members of his own family, according to the minister who spoke of a “private” event.
National mourning
In a speech in the evening, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic announced a three-day national mourning, on January 2, 3 and 4, and specified that four people had been seriously injured, transferred to a hospital in the capital Podgorica for treatment. supported. “The doctors are fighting to save them,” he said.
The author sought
This 45-year-old man was still on the run in the evening, sought by the police and the army who invited the inhabitants of Cetinje to stay at home. The Prime Minister added that “all police teams, special units and all possible law enforcement agencies (were) in Cetinje”. “We are looking for the culprit and we are on the right path,” he stressed.
On site, near the traditional restaurant in which the tragedy took place, the police prevented anyone from approaching in the evening. Dozens of men, police vehicles and at least one ambulance were visible behind the barriers, noted an AFP journalist.
Assuring in its press release that this shooting was “not the result of a confrontation between groups belonging to organized crime”, the Montenegrin police urged residents to stay at home while the suspect was on the run.
Although the police seem to favor the hypothesis of a non-mafia crime, organized crime and corruption have long affected Montenegro, and the town of Cetinje has been particularly affected in recent months.
Restrictions on firearms
“Guns should not be on the streets or in the hands of those who can harm others,” added Milojko Spajic, announcing new restrictions to come on gun ownership.
“I am stunned and shaken by this tragedy,” said the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, expressing his condolences to the families and friends of the victims. “We pray and hope for the recovery of all those injured.”
