Two children lost their lives after a bar brawl in Cetinje escalated into a shooting spree
Police investigators at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36km west of Podogrica, Montenegro, January 1, 2025. © AP / Risto Bozovic At least ten people, including two children, were killed in a shooting rampage on Wednesday in Cetinje, Montenegro. The suspect, identified as Aco Martinovic, 45, is still at large, with police deploying special units to apprehend him. The violence began in a local bar, where a brawl escalated into shooting. Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic confirmed that Martinovic killed the bar owner, the owner’s two children, and members of his own family before fleeing the scene. Local media reports indicate that Martinovic was known for erratic behavior and had previously been detained for illegal possession of weapons. According to public broadcaster RTCG, the suspect left the bar after the initial altercation, retrieved his gun, and returned to open fire, killing multiple people. Almenys set morts en un tiroteig en un restaurant de MontenegroHi ha dos menors entre les víctimes a Cetinje, capital històrica del país balcànic⬇️ Més informació:https://t.co/cmW1FT0EOopic.twitter.com/5q4ZUBMONh — À Punt NTC (@apuntnoticies) January 1, 2025 The authorities have urged residents of Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital, to stay indoors as the armed and dangerous suspect remains on the run. Footage shows police working under holiday lights while continuing their manhunt, cordoning off neighborhoods and searching the surrounding hills. Footage from Cetinje, a town in Montenegro, where a shooting at a local cafe left seven people dead , two of them children. pic.twitter.com/VCXaCaniCZ — S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) January 1, 2025 “All available police units are deployed in Cetinje, and efforts are underway to locate and detain the suspect,” said Saranovic. Police investigations into the exact motive behind the shooting are ongoing, but the minister described it as a “situational event not related to organized crime groups.”
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, visiting the hospital where the injured were being treated, described the incident as a “terrible tragedy” and announced three days of national mourning. Montenegro, with a population of 620,000, has a deeply rooted gun culture, as the Western Balkans remain flooded with weapons from past conflicts in the region. This is the second mass shooting in Cetinje in three years. In August 2022, another gunman killed ten people, including two children, before being stopped by a passerby. Spajic stated that the government is considering stricter gun laws, potentially including a total ban on firearms, in response to the tragedy.
