Croatia ‘shocked’ by ‘savage’ shooting at elderly care home kills 6, suspect detained
- Local TV reported the shooter was a former fighter from the 1991-95 war in Croatia and a relative of one of the nursing home residents
A gunman entered a nursing home in a quiet Croatian town on Monday and opened fire, killing six people including his mother, officials said. The dead were mostly in their 80s and 90s, the prime minister said.
The national police chief, Nikola Milina, said five people died immediately and another died in a hospital. Five were residents and one was an employee. At least six other people were wounded, four seriously.
The suspect fled but police caught him in a cafe near the facility in the town of Daruvar, Milina said. Authorities were investigating the motive behind the attack.
Officials said the suspect’s mother had lived in the nursing home for 10 years.
Daruvar resident Zlatko Sutuga told Nova TV he knew the suspect from the war era. “People say that he was really aggressive, alcohol and all that,” Sutuga said.
The attack left the town stunned and grieving. Daruvar is a spa town in the municipality of Slavonia, with a population of 8,500.