Children among at least 10 killed in Montenegro shooting, officials say

At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl in a western city in Montenegro, with the suspect still at large, officials said.

Police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic.

During a news conference Wednesday, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said Martinovic killed the owner of the bar in the city of Cetinje, the bar owner’s children and his own family members.

A statement said the armed man fled the scene after opening fire at the bar. “At this moment, we are focused on arresting him,” said Saranovic.

Police dispatched special troops to search for the suspect in Cetinje, located some 30 kilometres northwest of the capital, Podgorica.

Country ‘gripped by sadness’

Part of a sidewalk is cordoned off by police tape as people gather behind it. — Police and security personnel stand on a street near shooting scene in Cetinje on Wednesday. (Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters)

President Jakov Milatovic 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,” Milatovic said on the social media platform X.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic 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,” said Spajic. “All police teams are out.”

Suspect known for erratic behavior: media report

Montenegro, which has a population of about 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.

Wednesday’s shooting was the second such rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby in Cetinje.

A forensics investigator wearing full personal protective equipment reaches into the back of a police van. — Forensics investigators work at the shooting scene in Cetinje on Wednesday. (Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters)

A report on public television broadcaster RTCG, which published Martinovic’s photo on its website, said he was known for erratic behaviour and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons.

According to the report, the suspect went home to get his gun and came back to the bar where he opened fire, killing and wounding several people. The report said he then went to another site where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman.

Police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay indoors, ruling out a clash between criminal gangs.

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