BELGRADE: One of the four people who were critically injured in a mass shooting in Montenegro on New Year’s Day died on Thursday, medical officials said, taking the death toll to 13.
A 45-year-old man opened fire at a tavern in the southern town of Cetinje on January 1. Twelve people were pronounced dead at the scene, including two children. Four others were wounded.
“The 40-year-old patient succumbed to severe injuries sustained in the tragic event in Cetinje,” the Clinical Centre of Montenegro — the main hospital in the capital Podgorica — said in a statement.
The mass shooting has sparked public outrage and protests in the tiny Balkan country, with thousands demonstrating in Cetinje and Podgorica in recent days.
Protesters have slammed the slow response time of law enforcement, after reports said the gunman moved unopposed across five different locations for over half an hour during the mass shooting spree.
The gunman was also known to have possessed illegal weapons, including firearms that were seized from him in 2022.
The assailant later died after shooting himself in the head when he was surrounded by authorities following an hours-long manhunt.
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Montenegrin authorities have since introduced measures to curb the number of illegal weapons along with tougher penalties for unlawful possession of guns, stricter conditions for acquiring firearms, and a campaign encouraging owners to voluntarily surrender their illegal weapons.
According to the Small Arms Survey, there are approximately 245,000 firearms in circulation in Montenegro, which is home to just over 620,000 people.
Cetinje, with a population of around 13,000 people, is the site of the former royal capital and is situated in a mountainous valley that has largely stagnated economically.
In 2022, a man murdered 10 residents in Cetinje, including two children, in broad daylight before being killed, in one of the deadliest incidents to rock the country.
The area and its surroundings are also strongholds of organised criminal groups, with sporadic clashes erupting between rival mafia clans.
Organised crime has been a perennial issue in Montenegro, with authorities pledging to tackle the scourge as part of the country’s bid to join the European Union.