A large operation with special police was launched to apprehend the perpetrator, who fled after the shooting. The man, who is said to be 45 years old, opened fire in a restaurant in the town of Cetinje, about three miles northwest of the capital Podgorica.
Shortly after midnight, the local police told AFP that the suspect had shot himself and was dead. The police say it happened when he was surrounded.
When he was asked to lay down his weapon, he shot himself, says police chief Lazar Scepanovic, adding that the man died while preparations were being made to take him to the hospital.
Argument behind
Among the fatalities are two minors, according to the country's interior minister Danilo Saranovic at a press conference. The two minors were children of the restaurant owner who was also shot dead, according to Saranovic. The perpetrator also killed members of his own family.
Prosecutors said on Thursday that the incident had claimed the lives of twelve people, two more than previously reported. A number of people were injured in the attack and are being treated in Podgorica.
According to the state TV company RTCG and other local media, the origin of the shooting was an argument.
National mourning
Residents of Cetinje have been advised to stay indoors. The police say it is not a gang-related settlement.
Montenegro's prime minister Milojko Spajic has declared three days of national mourning.
This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all, he says.
In August 2022, eleven people were killed, including two children, in the historic town of Cetinje when a man went out on the street and began shooting indiscriminately at people. The perpetrator was shot dead by a private individual.
