Podgorica, Montenegro
Reuters
—
A man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Thursday after going on a rampage in a small town in Montenegro, shooting and killing 12 people, authorities said. The incident was one of the worst mass murders in the small Balkan country.
The gunman, who police identified as 45-year-old Aleksandar Ako Martinovic, opened fire after a scuffle at a restaurant in Cetinje on Wednesday afternoon, initially killing four people.
Prosecutor Andriana Nastic said he then shot and killed eight people, including two children, at three other locations.
Police said the victims had close ties to the shooter. “All the victims were godfathers or friends…The motive is still unclear,” said National Police Chief Lazar Shepanovic.
It was the second shooting incident in the same town, 38 kilometers (24 miles) west of the capital Podgorica, in less than three years. In August 2022, a gunman killed 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead.
Interior Minister Danilo Saranović said Martinovic attempted suicide after being cornered by police near his home in the town, but succumbed to his wounds on the way to hospital early Thursday.
“When he realized that he was in a hopeless situation, he attempted suicide. He did not receive his injuries on the spot, but died on the way to the hospital,” Saranović told Montenegrin state broadcaster RTCG. spoke.
On Thursday, the streets of Cetinje were almost deserted and all public facilities were closed.
“It was scary. Such anxiety and fear spread to all families in Cetinje. No one dared to look through the window,” resident Slavica Vuslović, 43, told Reuters.
“When I saw it on TV, I started crying… This is the second time such a tragedy in Cetinje,” said 64-year-old Slovo Matic.
Police said Martinovic had been drinking heavily and had a history of illegally possessing weapons. After getting into an argument with customers at the restaurant, the man went home, grabbed a weapon, returned to the restaurant and began firing, police said.
Four other people suffered life-threatening injuries in Wednesday’s assault, and one remains in critical condition, said Aleksandar Radović, head of the clinical center in Podgorica.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic called the rampage a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning. President Yakov Milatovic said he was “horrified” by the attack.
Spajic will convene a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday to discuss the aftermath of the shooting and measures aimed at detecting and seizing illegal weapons, a government statement said.
It added that the proposed measures include a new arms law with stricter standards for owning and carrying firearms, as well as an increase in the number of police officers.
In Montenegro, where gun culture is deeply rooted, stricter gun control is likely to face opposition.
Despite strict gun controls, the Western Balkans – made up of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia – remains awash in weapons. Most are from wars in the 1990s, but some date back to World War I.
This story has been updated.
