Forensic investigators inspect the crime scene in Cetinje, Montenegro, after a gunman killed at least 10 and wounded several more at a restaurant in the Bajice District after a physical altercation Wednesday morning. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE
A brawl at a café in Cetinje, Montenegro, turned into a deadly mass shooting that killed at least 10 with the suspect at large Wednesday morning.
Two children were among the 10 killed in the shooting allegedly carried out by suspect Aco Martinovic, 45, who fled after the shooting, Sky News reported. Advertisement
“Instead of festive joy, sadness over the loss of innocent lives hung over our capital and all of Montenegro,” Montenegro President Jakov Milatovic said in a translated post on X. “I am shocked and shaken by this tragedy.”
Some news reports cited at least seven deaths in the mass shooting, but Russian news agency Tass reported at least 10 were killed.
Local police called the mass shooting an isolated incident and said it did not arise from a “war between organized criminal groups” in Montenegro.
A fight broke out at the establishment prior to the shooting, as some news sources referred to the establishment as a bar and others a café.
The suspect is armed and local police have advised residents in the Bajice district of Cetinje to remain calm and stay indoors. Advertisement
The suspect allegedly shot and killed the establishment’s owner, the owner’s children and the suspect’s own family members before fleeing.
Cetinje is located in western Montenegro, which has a population of about 620,000 and is located on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea with Bosnia-Herzegovina to its north, Serbia to its west and Kosovo and Albania to its south.
