At least four people, including two children, were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a restaurant in Montenegro’s historic capital, Cetinje, on Wednesday.
After opening fire from inside, the shooter continued to open fire from outside, police and local media confirmed.
Citing the country’s police, Montenegrin Vegeti TV said a fight broke out at the restaurant before the shooting, with several people killed on the premises. News portal CDM reported that the gunman, who escaped, then left the restaurant, and shot and killed two children on the street.
At least four people were killed, a police spokesman said.
In a live TV broadcast from outside a medical center, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic called the incident a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning.
He did not give a death toll but said four people had been taken to a hospital in the capital Podgorica for surgery.
“It appears from initial information … the offender did not have a background of being a member of organized crime groups. There was an altercation in which a pistol was used,” Spajac said. said
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, also reacted to the attack. “I am shocked and horrified by the tragedy in Setinje. … We are praying and hoping for the recovery of the injured,” Milatovic said in a statement.
Setenje was eerily quiet and the snow-covered streets were almost empty except for law enforcement agencies on Wednesday. Special police and anti-terrorist units fled to the hills in search of the suspect. Setanje sits in a shallow valley surrounded by rugged mountains.
Montenegrin police sent special units to the area and urged people to stay at home. The footage shows police cordoning off a neighborhood lit up with festive lights.
Montenegro’s police directorate said in a statement that “all available police units are on the ground, conducting activities within their jurisdiction” to apprehend the suspect.
Mass shootings are relatively rare in Montenegro, which has a deep gun culture.
In 2022, a mass shooting in Montenegro killed 11 people, including two children and a gunman, and injured six others.
Despite strict gun laws, the Western Balkans, made up of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, is riddled with weapons. Most date back to the bloody wars of the 1990s, but some also date back to the First World War.
Spajak said authorities would tighten standards for carrying firearms, including the possibility of a total ban on weapons.