ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) – An armed assailant entered a care home for older people in central Croatia Monday and opened fire, killing five people and wounding several others, authorities and media reports said.
The Index news portal said five people died immediately, while others were still receiving medical assistance. The suspect fled the scene, but the police soon caught him in a cafe near the facility in the town of Daruvar, the report said.
“We are appalled by the murder of five people in the Home for the Elderly in Daruvar,” Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic wrote on the social media platform X. “We express our condolences to the families of the victims and hope for the recovery of the wounded.”
Police said they were informed after 10 a.m. Monday that a man using firearms killed and wounded several people at the nursing home. The suspect is “under police supervision,” said a statement by the regional police office.
N1 regional television reported that the shooter was born in 1973, that he was a former fighter from the 1991-95 war in Croatia and a relative of one of the nursing home residents.
The attack has left the quiet town stunned and grieving.
The mayor of Daruvar, Damir Lnenicek, told N1 that everyone was shocked by the murder.
“What is the cause, the trigger, it is difficult to say. That will be determined by the investigation,” said Lnenicek, adding that the tragedy happened in a private home where about 20 people are housed. He said that it is an excellent home.
Daruvar is a spa town in the municipality of Slavonia, with a population of 8,500.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said he was “shocked” by “the savage, unprecedented crime.”
“It is a frightening warning and a last call to all competent institutions to do more to prevent violence in the society, including even more rigorous control of gun ownership,” he said.
Authorities are investigating the motive behind the attack.