A man shoots five people in a nursing home in Croatia
The police were informed at 10.10 am that a man had shot and injured several people in a Nursing Home, the police reported. The suspected perpetrator had been arrested and investigations were ongoing.
The state broadcaster HRT had previously reported that at least five people had been killed and several others injured. The shooter then fled but was quickly apprehended in a nearby café. The Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed the casualty figures.
The head of a local emergency service, Nenad Mrzlecki, reportedly spoke to local media of four deaths and four injuries at the scene. He did not mention a fifth victim. "Our teams are still on site and it's a priority that everyone receives the necessary help," he said. "Exact details about the number of victims" would only be available later.
Local media reported that the shooter was a 51-year-old man. He had allegedly killed his Mother in the Home. The other four reported deaths were of other Home residents and staff members.
The newspaper "Jutarnji List" reported that three other people had been injured, one of them seriously. The shooter was reportedly a retired Military Policeman.
The investigators cordoned off the Heim in a quiet street in Daruvar. According to a reporter from the news agency AFP, a few dozen people had gathered behind the barrier, including many relatives of the Home residents.
The 7000-inhabitant town, about 130 kilometers east of the capital Zagreb, is known for its thermal baths. "It's hard to believe that this could happen in our town, our country," said the mayor of Daruvar, Damir Lnenicek, to the regional broadcaster N1. In the Nursing Home, it was reported that about 20 seniors had lived. It was "difficult to say" what had triggered the violent act, the mayor added.
The Croatian President Zoran Milanovic declared on social media that the violence was a "shocking warning and a final call to all responsible institutions to do more to prevent violence in society." This includes "stricter control of weapon possession." Generally, shootings are rare in Croatia.
The Croatian prime minister Plenkovic expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in an online service. "We are speechless in the face of the murder of five people in a Nursing Home in Daruvar," he declared in X. "I expect the responsible authorities to clarify all the circumstances of this terrible crime." The Family Minister and the Interior Minister of the country, Marin Piletic and Davor Bozinovic, announced that they would travel to Daruvar following the incident.
- The man who shot and injured several people in the Altersheim nursing home was identified as a 51-year-old retired Military Policeman.
- The police arrested the man responsible for the shooting weapon attack at a nearby café shortly after the incident.
- The mother of the shooter was one of the five people killed in the nursing home, according to local media reports.
- Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of Croatia urges stricter control of weapon possession following the shooting incident in Daruvar.
