Children among at least 10 killed in Montenegro shooting, officials say

A gunman who killed at least 10 people in a mass shooting in a small town in Montenegro died of self-inflicted injuries Thursday, the country’s interior minister, Danilo Saranovic, said. The gunman, identified by police as Aleksandar Martinovic, 45, died near his home in the town of Cetinje after being cornered 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.

He provided no further details.

Martinovic was on the run after opening fire on Wednesday afternoon at a restaurant in Cetinje, a small town located 38 kilometres west of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, where he killed four people.

The shooter then moved on to three other locations, killing at least six more people, including two children, police said. Four other people suffered life-threatening injuries.

Police and security personnel stand on a street near shooting scene in Cetinje on Wednesday. (Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters)

Police said Martinovic had a history of illegal weapons possession.

Late on Wednesday, police director Lazar Scepanovic said the suspect was thought to have been drinking heavily before the shooting.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said there had been a brawl before shots were fired.

Police said the shooting was not thought to be connected to organized crime.

Region awash with firearms

Mass shootings are comparatively rare in Montenegro, which has a deeply rooted gun culture. In 2022, also in Cetinje, 11 people, including two children and a gunman, were killed in a mass attack.

Wednesday’s incident shocked the country of 605,000 people. Spajic called the shootings a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning. President Jakov Milatovic said he was “horrified” by the attack.

Forensics investigators work at the shooting scene in Cetinje on Wednesday. (Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters)

Despite strict gun laws, the Western Balkans composed of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, remain awash with weapons. Most are from the bloody wars in the 1990s, but some date back even to World War I.

Spajic said authorities would consider tightening criteria for owning and carrying firearms, including the possibility of a complete ban on weapons.

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