Wed Jan 01 23:26:57 UTC 2025: ## Montenegro in Mourning After Gunman Kills 10, Including Children, in Village Rampage
**Cetinje, Montenegro** – A gunman’s rampage in the village of Bajice near Cetinje, Montenegro, has left at least 10 people dead, including two children, and four others critically injured. The attack, which spanned multiple locations, has plunged the small Balkan nation into mourning and prompted a nationwide manhunt for the suspect, identified as 45-year-old A.M.
According to Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic, the suspect, who had been drinking alcohol throughout the day, engaged in an altercation at a restaurant. He subsequently retrieved a firearm and opened fire, killing victims at four separate locations. Among the dead are the owner of the restaurant and their two children. The suspect also killed members of his own family.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic declared three days of national mourning, beginning Thursday, and confirmed that four people are fighting for their lives in a Podgorica hospital. He described the incident as a tragic escalation of a restaurant dispute, stating, “It was simply a restaurant fight where guns were drawn and everything went in a different direction in which it should not have gone.” Spajic announced plans to tighten gun control laws in the wake of the massacre.
Police have sealed off the area and launched a full-scale manhunt, deploying special units to apprehend the suspect. President Jakov Milatovic expressed the nation’s condolences, tweeting, “Our thoughts tonight are with the families who lost their loved ones and the citizens of Cetinje… The whole of Montenegro feels and shares your pain.”
While mass shootings are rare in Montenegro, this incident follows a similar tragedy in 2022, where another gunman killed 10 people, including children. The government has pledged to address concerns regarding organized crime and corruption, issues that remain a challenge for the country as it seeks to join the European Union.
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