Montenegrin state television RTCG previously reported that the gunman had killed 11 people and had been shot by police. Montenegrin police chief Zoran Brjanin said in a video statement released to the media that the attacker was a 34-year-old man he identified only by his initials, VB. Firefighters stand next to a body at the scene of the attack in Cetinje, about 30 kilometers west of Podgorica, Montenegro, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, after a mass shooting. Risto Bozovic / AP Brjanin said the man used a hunting rifle to first shoot to death two children aged 8 and 11 and their mother, who were living as tenants in the attacker’s house in the Medovina neighborhood of Cetinje. The gunman then went out into the street and randomly shot 13 other people, seven of them fatally, the chief said. “At this time, it is unclear what caused VB to commit this heinous act,” Brjanin said. Andrijana Nastic, the prosecutor coordinating the crime scene investigation, told reporters that the gunman was killed by a bystander and that a police officer was among the wounded. He said nine of the dead died on the spot and two died at a hospital where they were taken for surgery. Cetinje, the seat of Montenegro’s former royal government, is 22 miles west of Podogrica, the current capital of the small Balkan nation. Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic wrote on his Telegram channel that the incident was “an unprecedented tragedy” and urged the nation “to be, in its thoughts, with the families of the innocent victims, their relatives, friends and all its people Cetinje”. President Milo Djukanovic said on Twitter that he was “deeply moved by the news of the terrible tragedy” in Cetinje, calling for “solidarity” with the families who lost loved ones in the incident. Montenegro is famous for its picturesque beaches, framed by nearby mountains that have long attracted tourists. Cetinje is the site of the country’s former royal capital and is located in a mountain valley that has largely stagnated economically in recent decades.
Residents were left shocked in the aftermath of the shooting. “I can’t believe that this happened in Cetinje and Montenegro. I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless. I don’t know where this can lead us,” Cetinje resident Milorad Mitrovic told RTCG. The incident comes as the country is in full swing of the long-awaited high tourist season after two years of the coronavirus pandemic. With an unemployment rate of about 18 percent and an average monthly salary of less than 520 euros ($614), Montenegro relies on tourism and the appeal of some 300 kilometers of blue coastline to boost its revenue. Holiday destinations such as Budva and Kotor draw large crowds, the latter appearing on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Organized crime and corruption remain two major issues plaguing the country, which the authorities are committed to tackling under pressure from the EU. However, mass shootings have been rare in the Adriatic nation. AFP contributed to this report.