Police investigators work at the scene of a shooting in Cetinje, 22 miles west of Podogrica, Montenegro, on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

Risto Bozovic/AP

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Risto Bozovic/AP

CETINJE, Montenegro – Shock and dismay reigned in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 people, including two children, and then killed himself in a western city.

At least four other people were injured in Wednesday’s shooting spree in Cetinje, which followed a bar brawl, officials said. This was the second such incident in the city in the last three years.

The gunman, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the bar’s owner, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, officials said.

The attacker, who initially fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović said he died after shooting himself in the head.

The residents of Cetinje were stunned and full of sadness. Vanja Popović, whose relatives are among the victims, said: “We are all in shock.”

“How can I feel after this?” said Popović. “Nobody expected this. You can’t ask anyone anything.”

Police had sent a special unit to search for the attacker in the city, which is about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital Podgorica. All roads inside and outside the city were blocked for hours as police stormed the streets.

Šaranović said the shooter died while being transported to a hospital in the capital and succumbed to his “serious injuries.”

Officials said the attacker had been at the bar all day with other patrons when the fight broke out. He then went home, brought a gun and opened fire around 5:30 p.m

Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić said Thursday that the attacker visited six locations during the rampage, including the last one where he shot himself.

Four men were killed in the bar, Nastić said. The gunman then moved on to another location where he killed four more people and then two children at a third location. He then killed two more people in two other locations before finally shooting himself, Nastić said.

“Further investigations will clarify the exact circumstances of the events,” she added.

The government has declared three days of national mourning starting Thursday and canceled all planned New Year celebrations across the country.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said the government could try to impose a total ban on weapons “because we have to ask ourselves who can have weapons in Montenegro.”

The small Adriatic state with around 620,000 inhabitants is known for its weapon culture and many people traditionally own weapons.

In August 2022, an attacker killed ten people, including two children, in Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro, before being shot by a passerby.

Police said the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting received a suspended prison sentence for violent behavior in 2005 and was appealing his most recent conviction for illegal gun possession. Montenegrin media reported that he was known for erratic and violent behavior.

“Instead of holiday joy…we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović said in a post on X.