PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO — At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl in a western Montenegrin city, officials said. The shooter was on the run.
Police identified the attacker as Aco Martinovic, 45. He killed the owner of the bar in the city of Cetinje, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, said Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic at a news conference.
“At this moment, we are focused on arresting him,” Saranovic said.
Police dispatched special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Podgorica.
A statement said the man fled the scene armed after opening fire at the bar.
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.
“This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” Spajic said. “All police teams are out.”
Montenegro, which has about 620,000 people, is known for gun culture, and many people traditionally have weapons.
Wednesday’s attack was the second shooting rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. In August 2022, an attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby in Cetinje.
A report by Radio and Television of Montenegro, the country’s public service broadcaster, which published Martinovic’s photo on its website, said he was known for erratic behavior and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons.
The report said he had gone home to get his gun and returned to the bar, where he had 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 to residents to remain calm and stay indoors, ruling out a clash between criminal gangs.
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