Several killed as gunman opens fire in Croatian care home
22 July 2024, 15:23
Several people are dead after a gunman opened fire in a Croatian care home today.
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At least six people were killed at the home in the town of Daruvar, about 75 miles east of the capital Zagreb.
The suspected shooter fled the scene but was captured by police in a local cafe a short distance from the care home.
The exact number of fatalities remains unknown, local emergency services have said.
"Our teams are still on the ground and the priority is to provide everyone with the necessary help, after that is done we will know the exact data on the number of victims," Nenad Mrzlecki, the head of a regional emergency care facility, said.
"We are appalled by the murder of five people in the home for the elderly in Daruvar," Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic tweeted in response to the attack.
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"We express our condolences to the families of the victims and hope for the recovery of the wounded."
Speaking at a press conference in Split, he added: "We are shocked. It's a truly monstrous act, the murder of multiple people, of (the assailant's) mother and older people mostly born in the 1930s.
“We had some difficult situations, but I don't remember this many people being killed (in one attack)."
President of Croatia Zoran Milanović described the attack as a "savage unprecedented crime".
"It is a terrifying warning and a last call to all competent institutions to do more to prevent violence in society, including even more rigorous control of gun ownership," he added in a post on Facebook.
Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister Davor Božinović, Minister of Health Vili Beroš, and social policy minister Marin Piletić are travelling to Daruvar following the mass shooting.
Six victims of the attack died on the scene while several people are still receiving medical assistance.
A statement by the regional police said the suspect is "under supervision".
Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list described him as a “retired military police officer” and claimed he killed his own mother in the attack.
