A gunman who fatally shot at least 10 people in a shooting spree in a small town in Montenegro killed himself on Thursday (January 2), according to the country’s interior minister, Danilo Saranovic.
The attacker, identified as 45-year-old Aleksandar Martinovic, died of self-inflicted wounds near his home in Cetinje after being surrounded by police.
“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,” Saranovic told Montenegro’s state broadcaster, RTCG.
President Jakov Milatovic said he was “horrified” by the attack.
“A terrible tragedy has struck all of us in Cetinje, in the village of Bajice,” Prime Minister Milojko Spajic told state broadcaster RTCG, as he announced three days of national mourning.
Shooting Rampage In Cetinje
On Wednesday evening, Martinovic opened fire at a restaurant in Cetinje, a small town 23.6 miles west of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, killing four people. He then proceeded to three other locations, where he killed at least six more individuals, including two children. Police also reported that four others sustained life-threatening injuries.
Motive Behind Shooting
Prosecutor Andrijana Nastic told reporters in Cetinje that “prosecutor and police actions are ongoing to determine the circumstances under which the event took place.” She added that authorities had ruled out a “showdown between organised criminal groups” and confirmed that the firearms used were illegal.
Prime Minister Spajic told state broadcaster RTCG that the incident was a “restaurant fight” gone wrong and that he would be tightening the country’s criteria for firearms possession.
“It was simply a restaurant fight where guns were drawn and everything went in a different direction in which it should not have gone,” he said. “This is a tragedy after which we must ask ourselves who should be allowed to possess firearms in Montenegro.”
