Gunman kills at least 10 people, including 2 children, in shooting in Montenegro

By PREDRAG MILIC, Associated Press

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others were seriously wounded Wednesday in a shooting that followed a bar fight in a town in western Montenegro, officials said. The shooter was at large.

Police identified the attacker as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic. He killed the bar owner in the town of Cetinje, his children and his own relatives, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said at a news conference.

“Right now, we are focused on arresting him,” Saranovic told reporters.

Police sent special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica. All roads in and out of the city have been blocked while police invaded the streets.

Saranovic described the suspect as dangerous and asked residents to stay in their homes.

“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes these people… are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” Saranovic said.

Martinovic had been in the bar all day with other guests when the fight broke out, Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic said. He said Martinovic went home, brought a gun and opened fire around 5:30 p.m.

He “killed four people” in the bar before leaving and then continued shooting in three more places, Scepanovic said. “He tried to take the lives of four more people and then fled with the vehicle he was using, which we have 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 have reported that he was known for his erratic and violent behavior.

Little Montenegro, which has about 620,000 inhabitants, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally own guns.

Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting in the last three years in Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro. An attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot dead by a bystander in Cetinje.

President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of Christmas joy… we have been overcome with sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on social media platform X.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning. He said “all police teams” were searching for the suspect.

“This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” Spajic said.