(Updated assessment, details)
A heavily drunk man shot dead at least 12 people on Wednesday in the small town of Cetinje, Montenegro, before killing himself after being surrounded by police, the prosecutor in charge of the case, Andrijana Nastic, said on Thursday.
The suspected shooter, Aleksandar Martinovic, 45, opened fire after a brawl on Wednesday afternoon in a restaurant in Cetinje, 38 km west of the capital Podgorica, where he killed four people.
He then shot eight people in two other locations, including two children. Four other people were seriously injured, one of whom required surgery.
Aleksandar Martinovic, who according to police was heavily intoxicated, attempted suicide late Wednesday near his home in Cetinje. He died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.
“When he saw that he was in a desperate situation, he attempted suicide. He did not succumb to his injuries on the spot, but during transport to the hospital,” said the Minister of Health. Interior, Danilo Saranovic, on Montenegro’s public television channel, RTCG.
It was one of the deadliest shootings in the history of the small Balkan country. In 2022, an armed man killed 11 people in the same town of Cetinje, including two children.
Police said Aleksandar Martinovic had been arrested in the past for illegal possession of weapons but believed Wednesday’s shooting was not linked to the organized crime that is plaguing the country.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic declared three days of national mourning.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic and Stevo Vasiljevic in Podgorica; French version Jean Terzian and Tangi Salaün, editing by Blandine Hénault)
