This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/01/at-least-four-killed-and-four-more-wounded-in-montenegro-shooting

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
At least 12 killed and four wounded in Montenegro shooting Twelve people including two children killed in Montenegro shootings
(about 2 hours later)
Police identified the attacker as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, who they say opened fire in bar after a fight Police identify attacker as 45-year-old Aleksandar Martinović, who they say opened fire in a bar after a fight
At least 12 people, including two children, were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl in a western Montenegrin city, officials said. Twelve people including two children have been killed and four others seriously injured in southern Montenegro, authorities have said, in shootings that began in a restaurant and ended when the gunman shot himself in the head.
Police identified the attacker as Aco Martinović. The country’s interior minister, Danilo Šaranović, later told the state broadcaster RTCG that the 45-year-old died from injuries en route to hospital after shooting himself. The shooter, identified as Aleksandar Martinović, 45, turned his weapon on himself after being cornered by police near his home in Cetinje, a small town about 40km (25 miles) west of the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, interior minister Danilo Šaranović said.
The gunman killed the owner of the bar in the city of Cetinje, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, Šaranović said at a news conference. “When he saw that he was in a hopeless situation, he attempted suicide. He did not succumb to his injuries on the spot, but during the transport to hospital,” Šaranović told the public broadcaster, RTCG.
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes such people ... are even more dangerous than members of organised criminal gangs,” he said. The public prosecutor, Andrijana Nastic, told reporters that 12 people had died in the shootings, which began at about 5.30pm on Wednesday in the village of Bajice near Cetinje.
Martinović was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted, said the police commissioner, Lazar Šćepanović. He said that Martinović then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at about 5.30pm. The victims were killed at five different locations, with the first four in the restaurant, Nastic said. “Each location has been inspected and evidence was taken. Prosecutor and police actions are ongoing to determine the circumstances,” she added.
“He killed four people at the bar, 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.” Four people were being treated for serious injuries in a hospital in Podgorica, the health minister, Vojislav Šimun, said, with the lives of three of them still in danger. The government has declared three days of national mourning.
He said the suspect had received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behaviour and had appealed against his latest conviction for illegal possession of weapons. Montenegrin media have reported that he was known for erratic and violent behaviour. Police have said the shooting was not believed to be connected to organised crime.
The president, Jakov Milatović, said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy … we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” he said on X. Šaranović said the bar owner, his children and members of the shooter’s own family were among the dead. “The level of rage and brutality shows sometimes such people … are even more dangerous than members of organised criminal gangs,” he said.
The prime minister, Milojko Spajić, went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning. “This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” he said. “All police teams are out.” Police commissioner Lazar Šćepanović said Martinović had spent much of New Year’s Day at the bar and was thought to have been drinking heavily before the shooting. He went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire, Šćepanović said.
Montenegro, which has a population of about 620,000, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons. The gunman had been given a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behaviour and had appealed against a more recent conviction for possession of illegal weapons. Local media have said he was known for his violent and erratic behaviour.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second such firearms incident over the past three years in Cetinje. An attacker also killed 10 people – including two children – in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby. The country’s president, Jakov Milatović, said he was “shocked and stunned” by the killings. “Instead of holiday joy … we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatović said in a social media post.
RTCG, which published Martinović’s photo on its website, reported that he was known for erratic behaviour and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons. The prime minister, Milojko Spajić, said there had been a brawl before shots were fired. He describing the shootings as a “terrible tragedy” and said authorities would consider tighter firearms laws, including the possibility of a complete ban.
The report said he went home to get his gun and came back to the bar where he opened fire and killed and wounded several people. He then went to another site where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman, the report added. Montenegro, which has a population of just over 600,000, is known for its deep-rooted gun culture, but mass shootings are comparatively rare. In 2022, also in Cetinje, a gunman killed 10 people including two children before being shot and killed.
Police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay indoors, ruling out a clash between criminal gangs. Despite generally strict gun laws, the western Balkans – Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia – remain awash with weapons, most dating from the region’s bloody wars of the 1990s, but some more than a century old.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report