PODGORICA, Montenegro (Reuters) – A gunman who killed at least 10 people in a rampage in a small town in Montenegro died from self-inflicted injuries on Thursday after attempting suicide, the country’s interior minister, Danilo Saranovic, said.
The gunman, identified by police as Aleksandar Martinovic, 45, attempted suicide near his home in the town of Cetinje after being cornered by police.
“When he saw that he was in a hopeless situation, he attempted suicide. He did not succumb to his injuries on the spot, but during the transport to hospital,” Saranovic told Montenegro’s state broadcaster, RTCG.
Saranovic provided no details on the attempted suicide.
Martinovic was on the run after opening fire on Wednesday afternoon at a restaurant in Cetinje, a small town located 38 km (23.6 miles) west of Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, where he killed four people.
The shooter then moved on to three other locations, killing at least six more people, including two children, police said. Four other people suffered life-threatening injuries.
Police said Martinovic had a history of illegal weapons possession.
Late on Wednesday, police director Lazar Scepanovic said the suspect was thought to have been drinking heavily before the shooting. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said there had been a brawl before shots were fired.
Police said the shooting was not thought to be connected to organised crime.
Mass shootings are comparatively rare in Montenegro, which has a deeply rooted gun culture. In 2022, also in Cetinje, 11 people, including two children and a gunman, were killed in a mass attack.
Wednesday’s incident shocked the country of 605,000 people. Spajic called the rampage a “terrible tragedy” and declared three days of national mourning. President Jakov Milatovic said he was “horrified” by the attack.
Despite strict gun laws, the Western Balkans composed of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, remain awash with weapons. Most are from the bloody wars in the 1990s, but some date back even to World War One.
Spajic said authorities would consider tightening criteria for owning and carrying firearms, including the possibility of a complete ban on weapons.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic, Stevo Vasiljevic in Podgorica and Daria Sito Sucic in Sarajevo; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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