Five dead in shooting at nursing home in Croatia

At least five people were killed and several others injured in the incident, HRT reported.

The death toll was later confirmed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who called for a thorough investigation by the relevant authorities.

“We are appalled by the murder of five people in the nursing home in Daruvar,” Plenkovic said on social media.

After the shooting, police cordoned off the private nursing home on a quiet street in Daruvar. A small crowd gathered there and watched as a forensic team entered the home.

Police said they were notified of the incident at 10:10 a.m. local time (08:10 GMT) and confirmed that the suspect entered the nursing home and used a firearm.

“The person involved in the commission of the crime is in police custody,” police said in a statement.

As news of the shooting spread, Daruvar, a quiet town of about 7,000 people that has long been a popular health resort thanks to the area’s thermal springs, was filled with shock.

“It is difficult for me to understand that something like this can happen in our city and our country,” said the mayor of Daruvar, Damir Lnenicek, to the regional broadcaster N1.

According to the mayor, about 20 people were living in the nursing home at the time of the shooting.

“What is the trigger? It is difficult to say, it will become clear in the course of the investigation,” Lnenicek added.

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic also used social media to describe the shooting as “brutal.”

“It is a frightening warning and a final call to all relevant institutions to do more to prevent violence in society, including even stricter control of gun ownership,” the president said.

The head of a regional emergency facility, Nenad Mrzlecki, told local media that medical teams found four dead and four other injured at the scene of the accident, who were immediately taken to local hospitals.

Mrzlecki did not provide any information about the fifth victim.

“Our teams are still on the ground and the priority is to provide everyone with the necessary assistance. Once that is done, we will know the exact data on the number of victims,” ​​he said.

The Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list described the suspected shooter as a “retired military policeman” who killed his mother as well as other residents and staff.

Shootings are rare in Croatia.

Last year, neighboring Serbia was rocked by a series of consecutive mass shootings, including a massacre at a school in the capital Belgrade that left 10 people dead.

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