CETINJE, Montenegro (Reuters) – A gunman killed at least 10 people in a rampage on a small town in Montenegro on Wednesday, police said, one of the tiny Balkan nation’s worst mass killings.
The 45-year-old suspect, identified as Aleksandar Martinovic, opened fire at a restaurant in the town of Cetinje, killing four people. He then moved on to three other locations, gunning down a family member, two children, and three other people, police said. Four more people suffered life-threatening injuries.
The suspect, who had a history of illegal weapons possession, remains on the run around Cetinje, a small valley town surrounded by rugged hills about 38 km (23.6 miles) west of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica. Police have deployed a drone with thermal vision to search for the suspect and special police and anti-terrorist units are also on the hunt.
“It’s a terrible tragedy, and we will do everything to put this person under control and apprehend him,” said police director Lazar Scepanovic. The suspect was thought to have been drinking heavily before the shooting, police said.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic called the shooting a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning. Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic said he was “horrified” by the attack and urged people to remain inside their homes. Cetinje was eerily quiet with its snow-covered streets empty except for law enforcement.
The incident highlights the issue of gun ownership in Montenegro and the wider Western Balkans, where many people own weapons from the bloody wars in the 1990s or World War One. Despite strict gun laws, the region remains awash with weapons. Spajic said authorities would consider tightening criteria for owning and carrying firearms, including the possibility of a complete ban on weapons.