Police identified the attacker as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic. He killed the bar owner in the town of Cetinje, the bar owner’s children and members of his own family, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said at a news conference.
“At the moment we are focusing on his arrest,” Mr Saranovic told reporters.
Police dispatched special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Podgorica. All roads in and out of the city were blocked as police swarmed the streets.
Mr Sanovic described the suspect as dangerous and called on residents to stay at home.
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes these people (…) are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” argued the minister.
Martinovic had been at the bar all day with other customers when the fight broke out, Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic said. He said Martinovic then returned home, brought a gun and opened fire around 5:30 p.m.
“He killed four people” at the bar, before leaving and continuing to shoot in three other places, detailed Mr. Scepanovic. “He tried to kill four other people and then fled in the vehicle he was using, which we found.”
-He said the suspect received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and appealed his latest conviction for illegal weapons possession. Montenegrin media reported that he was known for his erratic and violent behavior.
The small country of Montenegro, with a population of some 620,000, is known for its gun culture, with many people traditionally owning these weapons.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second in three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before being shot dead by a passerby in Cetinje.
The president, Jakov Milatovic, said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy (…) we were seized by sadness at the loss of innocent lives,” Mr. Milatovic declared on the X platform.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic visited the hospital where the injured were being treated and announced three days of mourning. He said “all police teams were searching for the suspect.” “It is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” he added.
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