At least 4 people were killed in a shooting in Montenegro, and the suspect is on the run: Police – National

An armed man killed at least four people and wounded four others on Wednesday in the Western Region Montenegro city CetinjePolice and local media said. The shooter was on the run.

Police sent special forces to search for the attacker in Cetinje, about 30 kilometers 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 AM and said he was 45 years old.

Police said at least four were dead, while state television RTCG and other Montenegrin media reported that seven people were killed and that the shooting followed a bar fight.

Montenegrin Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said “a number of people were killed”, including the bar owner and his family members, as well as members of the shooter’s family – but did not give a final death toll.

President Jakov Milatović said he was “shocked and appalled” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy…we were overwhelmed by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on the social media platform X.

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Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and declared three days of mourning without specifying the number of dead.

“It is a terrible tragedy that affects all of us,” Spaich said. “All the police teams are out.”

The small republic of Montenegro, with a population of about 620,000 people, is famous for its gun culture, and many people own traditional weapons.

Wednesday’s shooting incident was the second shooting incident in the past three years in Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro. An attacker killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022, before a bystander shot and killed him in Cetinje.

The RTCG report identified the man as Ako Martinovic, saying he was known for erratic behavior and had been arrested in the past for illegal weapons possession. The TV posted a photo of the suspect on its website.

The report stated that he returned to his home to get his gun and then returned to the bar, where he opened fire, killing and wounding several people. He then went to another location where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman, the report added.

The police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay in their homes, ruling out clashes between criminal gangs.

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