At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others seriously injured Wednesday in a shooting that followed a bar fight in a Western movie. Montenegrin city, officials said. The shooter was on the run.
Police identified the attacker as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic. He killed the bar owner in the town of Cetinjethe children of the bar owner and members of his own family, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic told a news conference.
“At the moment we are focusing on his arrest,” Saranovic told reporters.
Police dispatched special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Podgorica. All roads in and out of the city were blocked as police swarmed the streets.
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Saranovic described the suspect as dangerous and called on residents to stay home.
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes these people … are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” Saranovic said.
Martinovic was at the bar all day with other guests when the fight broke out, Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic said. He said Martinovic then returned home, brought a gun and opened fire around 5:30 p.m.
“He killed four people” at the bar, before leaving and then continued shooting at three other locations, Scepanovic said. “He attempted to kill four other people, then fled in the vehicle he was using, which we recovered.”
He said the suspect was given a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and had appealed his latest conviction for illegal possession of weapons. Montenegrin media reported that he was known for his erratic and violent behavior.
Tiny Montenegro, with a population of some 620,000, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally own weapons.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting rampage in the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before being shot dead by a passerby in Cetinje.
President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy… we were gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on social media platform X.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the injured 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.
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