Twleve people, including two children, have been killed and four seriously injured in a in .

Authorities said the rampage on Wednesday (January 1) came after a brawl in a bar in the western Montenegrin city of Cetinje. The death toll was initially given as 10, but authorities said on Thursday (January 2) that it has now risen to 12.

Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said police identified the alleged attacker as Aco Martinovic, 45. He went on to take his own life after being found and surrounded by police.

He killed the owner of the bar along with their children and members of his own family, according to officials.

Police had dispatched special troops to scour the city for the attacker. All roads in and out of Cetinje, which is 18 miles northwest of the capital Podgorica, had been blocked.

Officers descended on the streets in the wake of the shooting, with Mr Saranovic urging locals to stay indoors and describing the suspect as dangerous.

He said: "The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes such people ... are even more dangerous than members of organised criminal gangs."

Police Commissioner Lazar Scepanovic said Martinovic had been at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl broke out. He said Martinovic went home, returned with a weapon and opened fire at around 5.30pm local time on New Year's Day.

Mr Scepanovic said Martinovic killed four people at the bar before leaving and continuing the deadly attack at three other locations.

He added earlier: "He tried to take the lives of four more people and then fled with the vehicle he was using, which we have found."

The police commissioner said the suspect received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behaviour and has appealed his latest conviction for illegal possession of weapons. Local media reported the suspect was known for erratic and violent behaviour.

Locals in Cetinje were stunned and grief-stricken. Vanja Popovi, whose relatives are among the victims, said: "We are all in shock. How can I feel after this? No one expected it. You can't even ask anyone anything."

President Jakov Milatovic said he was "shocked and stunned" by the tragedy, adding to remarks on social media: "Instead of holiday joy ... we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives."

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic visited the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of national mourning.

He said all police teams were out searching for the suspect, adding: "This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all."

Montenegro, which has a population of around 620,000, is known for its gun culture, with many people owning weapons. Wednesday's shooting was the second rampage in the past three years in Cetinje, which is Montenegro's historic capital.

An attacker killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby in the city.