Esra Tekin and Lejla Biogradlija
01 January 2025•Update: 02 January 2025
ISTANBUL
At least 10 people were killed and four seriously wounded in a shooting Wednesday in southern Montenegro, said Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic.
Speaking at a news conference, Saranovic said the assailant was identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic.
Saranovic said Martinovic killed the owner of the bar in the city of Cetinje, the bar owner's children and his own family members.
“Today, there were fatalities in a shooting carried out by 45-year-old A.M. with a firearm at a bar in Bajice, a district of Cetinje. The assailant left the bar with his weapon and fled the scene,” Montenegrin police said earlier in a statement.
Saranovic said security forces were mobilized to apprehend the attacker, who fled after the incident.
Calling on residents to stay in their homes until he is caught, he noted that “the attacker is dangerous and armed, but he is about to be cornered.”
National media reported that Martinovic was previously detained for illegal possession of weapons.
Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic expressed concern over the tragedy and offered his condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic also visited the Montenegro Clinical Center where the four people wounded in the attack were treated.
Spajic noted that they were taken into surgery.
The Montenegrin government declared three days of national mourning due to the attack.
The leaders of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia also offered their condolences.
The shooting reportedly occurred due to a fight that broke out at the bar.
*Writing by Serdar Dincel
