Authorities reported that two children were among the at least ten people killed in a mass shooting that started at a restaurant in Cetinje, Montenegro, and continued to do so at various locations.
Aleksandar Martinovic, a neighborhood resident suspected of being responsible for the shootings, was later identified by police as Aleksandar Martinovic, 45, after turning the gun on himself and dying while being taken to a hospital.
The suspect’s Cetinje home was surrounded by police. When police commanded him “to lay down his weapon, he shot himself in the head”, the country’s police chief, Lazar Scepanovic, told reporters.
“An attempt was made to transport him to a clinical centre, but he succumbed to his injuries in the meantime”, he said.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic claimed the mass shooting had “shrouded our country in black” in a post that was confirmed the death of the alleged gunman.
“Everyone of us has been deeply moved by this senseless act. There are no words of comfort”, Spajic said.
Montenegro’s national security council will now consider “all options” in the aftermath of the attack, including a complete ban on the possession of weapons, the prime minister said, adding the country will observe three days of national mourning.
The owners of the restaurant where the shooting spree began, according to Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic, said the two minors killed in the attacks, which started on Wednesday night. The owner was also killed, he said. The children were aged 10 and 13, according to police.
According to the minister, the shooter killed “members of his own family,” adding that it was believed that the suspect had been heavily drinking prior to the rampage.
Four people reportedly fighting for their lives in a hospital in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, after the attack.
The suspect, who media reports said had a history of illegal weapons possession and received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behaviour, had fled after the shootings and was at large in Cetinje, a small valley town surrounded by rugged hills some 38km (23.6 miles) west of Podgorica.
As police surrounded the suspect close to his home before blocking all of his access roads inside and outside the town, the streets were blocked.
The mass shooting was the second gun rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby, The Associated Press news agency reports.
Montenegro, which has a population of just over 620, 000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
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