Assailant kills 6, injures 6 at central Croatian nursing home, authorities say

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — An armed assailant entered a nursing home for the elderly in central Croatia on Monday and opened fire, killing six people and wounding six others, police said.

Croatian police chief Nikola Milina said five people died instantly, while another person died in hospital. The suspect fled, but police quickly arrested him at a cafe near the establishment in the town of Daruvar, he said.

The victims were five residents of the nursing home and one employee, Milina said.

Police said they were informed of the attack on Monday morning. The suspect is “under police surveillance,” a regional police statement said.

Regional TV channel N1 reported that the shooter was born in 1973, a former police officer who participated in the Croatian war from 1991 to 1995, and a relative of one of the residents of the nursing home. According to media reports, one of the victims was his mother, who had lived in the nursing home for 10 years.

The attack left the town stunned and in mourning.

Daruvar Mayor Damir Lnenicek told N1 that everyone was shocked.

“It is difficult to say what is the cause, the trigger. This will be determined by the investigation,” Lnenicek said, adding that the tragedy occurred in a private house where about 20 people live. He said it was an excellent house.

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 this “savage and unprecedented crime”.

“This is a chilling warning and a final call to all relevant institutions to do more to prevent violence in society, including even more stringent control of firearm ownership,” he said.

According to police, the attacker used an unregistered weapon. Many weapons have been kept in private homes in Croatia since the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Authorities are investigating the motive for the attack.