The first day of 2025 started as a nightmare for Montenegro. A 45-year-old named Aco Martinović shot dead 12 people, including two children, at five different locations in the old royal town of Cetinje. He then took his own life.
A sense of depression took hold as the nation headed towards Orthodox Christmas, in the first week of January. The country and the region were just recovering from the shock of two similar massacres in Serbia last year. Now this.
Several of the people Martinović killed were members of his own family, including cousins and siblings. Two of the victims were children, aged nine and 14. His motivation is not yet clear. The initial investigations suggested that his mental health had deteriorated significantly in the months leading up to the massacre.
However, individual pathology is not the only factor – beneath the beautiful surface of this small Adriatic nation are deep and troubling social currents.
Just over two years ago, in August 2022, a man named Vuk Borilović killed 10 people in a 45-minute shooting spree, before he was shot dead by police. That act of mass murder also claimed the lives of two children. It occurred in the same town, Cetinje. This is a town with a population of little over 12,000 people.
Montenegrin society cannot really turn a blind eye to this issue any more. Addressing the root causes of such tragedies requires a deep and sustained period of national self-reflection, but one thing that is immediately clear is that there is a toxic masculinity that has become deeply ingrained in society.
In such cultures, men are often burdened with the expectation of being the primary providers and protectors of their families. That pressure can become overwhelming, particularly when men face economic hardships or personal failure.
The cult of the “hero”, which is heavily mythologised here, a dismissive attitude towards psychological assistance and a strong cult of weaponry are all prevalent.
Patriarchy not only dictates rigid gender roles but also discourages emotional vulnerability in men. From a young age, boys are taught to suppress their feelings, to “man up” in the face of adversity. This deprives men of healthy coping mechanisms, often leading them to internalise their struggles until they manifest in destructive ways.
The killer Martinović had a history of violence. He was sentenced in 2005 for violent behaviour, but was put on probation.
During a police search of his home in November 2022, an air rifle and other weapons and explosives were found. For that he was sentenced to three months in prison. Martinović was referred to the Ministry of Health, but he was not hospitalised. Instead, he was prescribed therapy.
It is clear that the system failed to identify a criminally violent man. The prime minister, Milojko Spajić, announced an amnesty for anyone who hands in an illegal firearm and, after that point, tougher prison sentences for those found in possession of illegal weapons. The government will also review all gun licences by 2026.
But really, all of this should have been done a long time ago. According to official data, more than 10% of a population numbering 623,000 has a gun licence, and there are roughly 100,000 weapons owned in the country. Authorities estimate that anywhere between 40,000 and 80,000 citizens illegally own a firearm.
But revising gun laws, although important, will not change much if society ignores the persistent form of toxic masculinity that we have here. Educational reforms that, from an early age, promote emotional intelligence, mental health awareness and gender equality can begin to dismantle the harmful stereotypes that contribute to such violence.
Soon after the massacre, Montenegrin citizens went out on to the streets grieving and protesting – their grief and frustration were aimed at the government. Although the problem is much bigger than one administration, the message sent was clear. One banner read: “If you tolerate this, your child could be next”.
Saša Dragojlo is a Serbian investigative journalist
