Horrific attack on New Year’s Day: A man has… Montenegro shot at the guests of a village bar. He killed ten people.
The attack in the 900-inhabitant village of Bajice in the south of the country is said to have a family background. It was apparently the “consequence of disturbed interpersonal relationships,” said Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic. The 45-year-old perpetrator shot the manager of the restaurant and his two children (10 and 13 years old) and also killed members of his own family. Four people survived with serious injuries and are fighting for their lives in hospital.
Forensics arrive at the crime scene
After the bloody act, the shooter initially escaped. The police managed to surround him after several hours. When he was asked to put down his weapon, the man shot himself in the head, said police chief Lazar Scepanovic. The perpetrator died from his injuries before he could be taken to a clinic.
Village structures: Police officers secure the area
The police have ruled out any connection with organized crime. The murders were preceded by a physical argument. The perpetrator went home after drinking alcohol “all day long” and returned with a gun at around 5:30 p.m. He initially killed four people, then shot others outside the building in three other locations. The man fled in a car.
A body is carried away
The government of the small Balkan state declared three days of national mourning starting Thursday. “The whole of Montenegro feels and shares your pain,” wrote President Jakov Milatovic on the online service X/Twitter to the relatives of the victims. Prime Minister Milojko Spajic told state broadcaster RTCG: “A terrible tragedy has struck all of us in the village of Bajice.”
Bajice is located 30 kilometers from the capital Podgorica. According to the Swiss research project Small Arms Survey (SAS), there are almost 250,000 firearms in the country of Montenegro, which has a population of 620,000. In 2022, a man killed ten people, including two children, in the neighboring community of Cetinje.