PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — On Wednesday, a shooting spree claimed the lives of at least 10 individuals, including two children, and left four others critically injured following a bar altercation in a city in western Montenegro, officials reported. The shooter remains at large.

Authorities have identified the assailant as 45-year-old Aco Martinovic. He allegedly murdered the bar owner in Cetinje, as well as the bar owner’s children and members of his own family, according to Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic during a press briefing.

“Our priority right now is to apprehend him,” Saranovic informed the media.

In response, police dispatched special forces to search for the suspect in Cetinje, situated approximately 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica. All access roads to and from the city have been blocked as law enforcement has flooded the streets.

Saranovic characterized the suspect as dangerous and urged residents to remain indoors.

“The level of rage and brutality exhibited indicates that individuals like this may be even more perilous than members of organized crime,” Saranovic remarked.

According to Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic, Martinovic was present at the bar earlier in the day when the fight broke out. He then returned home, retrieved a firearm, and began shooting around 5:30 p.m.

“He killed four people” at the bar before proceeding to fire at three additional locations, Scepanovic noted. “He attempted to take the lives of four more individuals and then fled in a vehicle, which we have since located.”

The commissioner added that the suspect had received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and is currently appealing a recent conviction for illegal firearm possession. Reports from Montenegrin media indicate that he had a history of erratic and violent conduct.

Montenegro, with a population of approximately 620,000, has a reputation for a prevalent gun culture where many individuals possess firearms.

The shooting incident marks the second such rampage in Cetinje within the past three years, which is Montenegro’s historic capital. In August 2022, an attacker killed ten people, including two children, before being shot by a bystander in the same city.

President Jakov Milatovic expressed his shock and disbelief at the events. “Instead of the joy of the holiday season, we are enveloped in grief over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic posted on the social media platform X.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic visited the hospital treating the injured and announced three days of mourning. He stated that “all police teams” were actively searching for the suspect.

“This is a horrific tragedy that has impacted us all,” Spajic declared.