On January 10, 2025, the local assembly in Cetinje, the historical royal capital of Montenegro, demanded the resignation of key security officials and increased police presence in response to the recent mass shooting incident that occurred on January 1.

The shooter, Aco Martinovic, tragically took the lives of 12 individuals, including two children, before ending his own life. A week later, one of the four injured victims succumbed to their injuries.

Earlier, in August 2022, another shooting in the same town by Vuk Borilovic led to the deaths of 10 residents, which similarly included two children. This incident lasted for 45 minutes before police intervened and shot Borilovic.

In the wake of the January 1 shooting, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic declared a two-month amnesty for those willing to surrender illegal firearms. He also promised harsher penalties for future illegal weapons possession and indicated that the government would reassess all gun licenses by 2026.

On January 5, over a thousand demonstrators held a moment of silence for 12 minutes outside the Interior Ministry in Podgorica to honor the victims of Martinovic’s attack. They demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic and Deputy Prime Minister for Defence and Security Aleksa Becic.

Despite the public outcry, Saranovic stated he would not resign as he did not believe he bore responsibility for the incident. His party, the Democrats, accused the former ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and ex-president Milo Djukanovic of orchestrating the protests.

During Friday’s assembly session, various resolutions were adopted, calling for the dismissal of the entire leadership of the security sector, which includes acting police director Lazar Scepanovic.

“The Cetinje Assembly insists on the resignation or replacement of the entire security sector leadership to uphold accountability and demonstrate a commitment to meaningful reforms within the sector,” stated the assembly’s conclusions.

The assembly also requested an independent international inquiry to ascertain personal accountability and pinpoint specific shortcomings in the security sector’s actions, particularly regarding what measures were undertaken following the first mass murder in Cetinje in 2022 up until January 1, 2025.

“We demand an evaluation of the current security dynamics in Cetinje, which should clarify the safety assurances for the local citizens,” the conclusions further emphasized.

The Interior Ministry was called upon to bolster the police presence in Cetinje and to implement a modern surveillance system throughout the town.

All council members unanimously supported these conclusions, with the exception of the representatives from the Democrats who were absent from the session.