The gunman suspected of shooting with firearms in the city of Cetinje shoots himself in the head after being surrounded by the police.
Two children were among at least 10 people killed in a mass shooting that began in a restaurant in the small Montenegrin town of Cetinje and continued at three different locations, authorities said.
A local suspect in the shooting, identified by police as Aleksandar Martinovic, 45, was confirmed dead early Thursday morning after turning the gun on himself and succumbing to his injuries while being transported to hospital.
The police had surrounded the suspect near his house in Cetinje. When police ordered him to “put down the gun, 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 center but he succumbed to his injuries in the meantime,” he said.
In a post on social media confirming that the suspected gunman was dead, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said the mass killing had “shrouded our country in black”.
“This senseless act has caused immense sadness and grief to each of us. There are no words of consolation,” said Spajic.
Montenegro’s National Security Council will now consider “all options” after the attack, including a complete ban on gun ownership, the prime minister said, adding that the country will observe three days of national mourning.
Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic told reporters that the two minors killed in the attacks, which began Wednesday night, were children of the owner of the restaurant where the shooting began. The owner was also killed, he said.
The attacker had “killed his family members”, the minister said, adding that the suspect was believed to have been drinking heavily before the rampage.
Four people seriously injured in the attack were reported to be fighting for their lives in a hospital in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.
The suspect, who media reports said had a history of illegal gun possession and received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behaviour, had fled after the shooting and was at large in Cetinje, a small besieged valley town of rugged hills about 38 km (23.6 miles). ) west of Podgorica.
All roads in and out of the city were blocked as police converged on the street before surrounding the suspect near his home.
The mass shooting was the second gun rampage in three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. A gunman also killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before being shot and killed by a bystander, 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 carry guns.
Organized crime and corruption are two major issues also plaguing Montenegro, which authorities have vowed to tackle under pressure from the European Union, which the tiny nation aspires to join.
