Dozens killed in shooting incident in Montenegro, police and local media report By Reuters
Written by Stevo Vasiljevic
CETINJE, Montenegro (Reuters) – A gunman in Montenegro killed at least four people, including two children, after he opened fire on Wednesday in a restaurant in the historic capital Cetinje and then went outside to continue shooting, according to police and local media. reports.
Montenegrin Vijesti TV said that chaos in the restaurant preceded the incident, and a number of people died in the area. The gunman, who was left on the ground, then walked into the restaurant, shooting and killing two children in the street, CDM news reported.
A police spokesperson said at least four people died.
On live TV outside the medical center, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic called the incident a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning.
He did not say the number of injured people, but said that four were transferred to a hospital in Podgorica, the capital, for surgery.
“It seems that according to the first information … the perpetrator did not have the background of a person who is a member of organized crime groups. There was a commotion where guns were used,” said Spajic.
The president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, also reacted to the attack. “I am surprised and shocked by the incident that happened in Cetinje. … We pray and hope that the injured will recover,” said Milatovic in a statement.
Cetinje was eerily quiet and the snow-covered streets were virtually empty except for law enforcement on Wednesday. Special police and anti-terrorist units are searching for the suspect in the hills. Cetinje sits in a shallow valley surrounded by rugged mountains.
The Montenegrin police have sent special units to the area and are urging people to stay in their homes. Footage showed police cordoning off the area near lampposts twinkling with festive lights.
“All the police are there from the ground up, they are doing their best” to arrest the suspect, the police department of Montenegro said in a statement.
Mass shootings are relatively rare in Montenegro, which has an entrenched shooting culture.
In 2022, 11 people, including two children and the gunman, were killed in a shooting incident in Montenegro, which also injured six others.
Despite strict gun laws, Western Balkan countries including Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia are still heavily armed. Most date back to the bloody wars of the 1990s, but some even date back to the First World War.
Spajic said authorities would tighten gun control measures, including a possible ban on firearms.
