At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others wounded in Wednesday's shooting that followed a bar fight in a western Montenegrin city, and the suspect is still at large, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic.
During Wednesday's press conference, Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said Martinovic killed the owner of a bar in Cetinje, the bar owner's children and members of his family.
The statement said the armed man fled the scene after opening fire in the bar. “Right now our focus is on his arrest,” Saranovic said.
Police deployed special forces to search for the suspect in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital Podgorica.
A country 'swept by sadness'
President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy.
“Instead of Christmas joy… we were overwhelmed by sadness over the deaths of innocent people,” Milatovic said on the X social media platform.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the injured were treated and announced three days of mourning.
“This is a terrible tragedy that has touched us all,” Spajic said. “All police teams are outside.”
Suspect known for erratic behavior: media reports
Montenegro, with a population of approximately 620,000, is known for its gun culture, with many people traditionally owning guns.
Wednesday's shooting was the second such crime in the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro's historic capital. In August 2022, an attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead by a passer-by in Cetinje.
A report by public television broadcaster RTCG, which published a photo of Martinovic on its website, said he was known for erratic behavior and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons.
According to the report, the suspect went home to get a gun and then returned to the bar where he opened fire, killing and injuring several people. The report states that he then went to another location where he killed the bar owner's children and a woman.
The police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay at home, ruling out clashes between criminal gangs.