January 2 (UPI) — Montenegrin officials are proposing a comprehensive ban on gun ownership following a cafe shooting that killed at least 12 people, including two children, in Cetinje on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić stated that the government will consider all possibilities, including a complete ban on gun ownership, during the upcoming National Security Council meeting. “Weapons cannot be on the streets or in the hands of those who could harm others. Spajić stated that he will request tangible security solutions for civilian protection by tomorrow. Police identified the killer as 45-year-old Aco Martinović. According to the public prosecutor, Martinović committed suicide after police encircled him following an hours-long manhunt.

Martinović had been drinking extensively all day when he got into an incident at a restaurant. He walked home and obtained a revolver, returning to kill many others, according to Montenegrin authorities. The restaurant owner and his two children, ages ten and thirteen, were among the dead. He subsequently visited several additional locations, shooting members of his family and others. According to Police Commissioner Lazar Šćepanović, the gunman killed four individuals at the bar and then shot others in three further locations.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic stated on X that “instead of festive joy, sadness over the loss of innocent lives hung over our capital and all of Montenegro.” I am stunned and shaken by this catastrophe. Local authorities stated that the mass shooting was an isolated incident and not the result of a “war between organized criminal groups.” Montenegro has scheduled three days of national mourning, beginning Thursday. In 2005, the gunman received a suspended sentence for violent behaviour and appealed his conviction for unlawful weapons ownership.