A gunman kills at least 10 people, including 2 children, in a shooting in Montenegro

PODGORICA, Montenegro – Montenegro’s interior minister says at least 10 people, including two children, were killed in a shooting in the western town of Cetinje on Wednesday.

As Minister Danilo Saranovic, who was on the run, said at a press conference, he also seriously injured four people. He said “our focus right now is on his arrest.”

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT UPDATE. Below is an earlier AP story.

PODGORICA, Montenegro – A gunman killed at least four people and wounded four others on Wednesday in the western Montenegrin town of Cetinje, police and local media reported. The shooter was on the run.

Police sent special forces to search for the attacker in Cetinje, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital Podgorica. The statement states that the man opened fire in the bar and the armed man fled the scene. Police identified him only by his initials AM and said he was 45 years old.

Police said at least four people were killed, while state television RTCG and other Montenegrin media reported that seven people were killed and that the shooting followed a bar fight.

Montenegro Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said “many people died,” including the bar owner and his family members, as well as members of the shooter’s family, but did not give a final death toll.

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 wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning, without saying how many died.

“This is a terrible tragedy that has touched us all,” Spajic said. “All police teams are outside.”

Little Montenegro, with a population of approximately 620,000, is known for its gun culture, with many people traditionally owning guns.

There was a shooting on Wednesday second shooting in Cetinje in the last three yearsthe historical capital of Montenegro. In August 2022, an attacker killed 10 people, including two children, before being shot dead by a passer-by in Cetinje.

The RTCG report identified the man as Aco Martinovic, saying he was known for erratic behavior and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons. The television published a photo of the reported suspect on its website.

The report states that he went home to get a gun and then returned to the bar, where he opened fire, killing and wounding several people. He then went to another location where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman, the report added.

The police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay at home, ruling out clashes between criminal gangs.