PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — An armed man killed at least four people and wounded four others on Wednesday in the western Montenegrin city of Cetinje, police and local media said. The shooter was on the run.
Police dispatched special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica. A statement said the man opened fire in a bar and fled the scene armed. Police identified him only by his initials A.M. and said he was 45 years old.
Police said there were at least four fatalities while the state RTCG television and other Montenegrin media reported that seven people were killed and that the shooting followed a bar brawl.
Montenegro’s Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said “a number of people were killed,” including the bar owner and his family members, as well as the shooter’s family members — but did not give a definitive death toll.
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, without specifying how many were killed.
“This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” said Spajic. “All police teams are out.”
Small Montenegro, which has some 620,000 people, is known for gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passer by in Cetinje.
The RTCG report identified the man as Aco Martinovic, saying he was known for erratic behavior and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons. The TV published the reported suspect’s photo on its website.
The report said he went home to get his gun and came back to the bar where he opened fire and killed and wounded several people. He then went to another site where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman, the report added.
Police appealed on the residents to remain calm and stay indoors, ruling out a clash between criminal gangs.
Predrag Milic, The Associated Press