At least 12 people, including two children, were killed and four others were seriously injured on Wednesday due to gunfire that followed a brawl at a restaurant in western Montenegro, official sources reported.
The police identified the assailant as 45-year-old Ako Martinović. He killed the establishment's owner in the suburb of Cetinje, his children, and members of his own family, stated Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović at a press conference.
All resources of the "Ministry of Interior" have been deployed to capture him. By Thursday morning, it was reported that the shooter had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head near his home when surrounded by law enforcement.
"When he realized he was in a hopeless situation, he attempted to take his own life. He died from his injuries while being transported to the hospital," said Šaranović to Montenegro's state broadcaster RTCG.
According to a statement from the on-duty prosecutor of the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica Andrijana Naštić, the murders took place in five different locations that are "far apart from each other."
Police Commissioner Lazar Stepanović stated that Martinović had been in the tavern during the day with other patrons when the altercation occurred. He noted that Martinović went home, retrieved a weapon, and opened fire around 5:30 PM.
"He killed four people in the bar, then went outside and continued shooting," Stepanović reported, adding that the assailant attempted to take the lives of several more people, "and then fled in a car that we found."
According to security officials, the suspect was given a suspended sentence in 2005 for "aggressive behavior" and appealed his latest conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. Montenegrin media reported that he was known for his "unbalanced" and "aggressive" behavior.
President Jakov Milatović stated that he was "shocked and stunned" by the tragedy that occurred on the first day of the new year. "Instead of festive joy... we are engulfed in sadness due to the loss of innocent lives," the head of state wrote on social media platform X.
Prime Minister Miloš Spajić visited the hospital where the injured were taken and declared three days of mourning.
Authorities Prepare New Firearm Ownership Restrictions
In his post on platform X, the head of government stated that authorities will conduct an additional recruitment of police officers and consider a "complete ban" on firearm ownership. Spajić urged all municipalities to cancel concerts planned during the mourning days.
Mass shootings involving firearms are relatively rare in Montenegro, despite the fact that, like neighboring Serbia, the country is among the world's leaders in civilian gun ownership.
In 2022, also in Cetinje, 11 people were killed in a shooting, including two children and the shooter himself.