Anger and tears as the Montenegrin city commemorates the victims of the mass shooting By Reuters
CETINJE, Montenegro (Reuters) – Thousands of Montenegrins gathered in the city of Cetinje on Sunday for a memorial service for the 12 victims of a mass shooting last week, with many accusing police of not doing enough to stop the gunman’s rampage.
In a crime that shocked the small Balkan nation, 45-year-old Aco Martinović went on a shooting spree for hours on Wednesday. When the police finally cornered him, he turned the gun on himself and later died of his injuries.
On Sunday, people lit candles in front of the church in Cetinje near the place where the shooting started and stood in silence for 12 minutes in honor of the victims.
We came to ask for answers as to why there was no response on time and who will take responsibility for it, Maja Gardašević told Reuters.
Many Montenegrins are angry about what they see as slow police reform with insufficient staff and resources, and bureaucratic and political conflicts within the government.
It was the second mass shooting in less than three years in Cetinje, which is located some 38 km (24 miles) west of the capital Podgorica. In August 2022, a gunman killed 10 people, including two children, before he was killed.
“This is simply my protest against the disorganization of the police. They learned nothing after the first tragedy,” said local resident Aleksandra Jablan.
On Friday, protesters in the capital demanded the resignation of top officials, including Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović and the police chief.
Montenegro, a small Adriatic republic with a population of 633,000, has a deep-rooted gun culture.
Like other Western Balkan countries – Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia – Montenegro is awash with illegal weapons, mostly from the bloody wars of the 1990s.
