At least five people were killed by a gunman in a nursing home in the Croatian spa town of Daruvar, east of Zagreb, on July 22.

An assailant entered the elderly care home during the morning, opening fire and causing multiple casualties, Croatian police reported. Media outlets indicated that five people were killed instantly, while others were injured and are receiving medical treatment. 

An arrest has since been made in connection with the shooting, as confirmed by the Bjelovar-Bilogora County police. The motive for the deadly attack is not yet known. 

According to local media reports, the suspect fled the scene but was apprehended by police at a nearby cafe in Daruvar. 

“Today, July 22, at 10:10 a.m., the Bjelovar-Bilogor police department received a report that a man killed and injured several people in a home for the elderly and infirm using a firearm,” a police statement said. 

“The person linked to the act is under police surveillance. An investigation will follow at the scene of the incident, which will be led by the deputy county state attorney in Bjelovar.” 

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed the number of fatalities and called for a comprehensive investigation. "We are appalled by the murder of five people in the Home for the Elderly in Daruvar. We express our condolences to the families of the victims and hope for the recovery of the wounded. I expect the competent authorities to determine all the circumstances of the terrible crime," Plenkovic wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

President Zoran Milanovic also expressed his condolences to the families of the five people shot dead in the attack, and called for a swift investigation as well as stricter gun controls. 

“I express my condolences to the families and relatives of the fellow citizens killed today in the Daruvar Home for the Elderly and Disabled,” Milanovic wrote on Facebook. 

“The wild, unprecedented crime in Daruvar shocked me. This is a frightening warning and a final call for all relevant institutions to do more to prevent violence in society, including stricter gun control,” he added. 

Broadcaster N1 reported that the shooter, born in 1973, was a former fighter from the 1991-95 war in Croatia and a relative of one of the nursing home’s residents.

Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list identified the alleged shooter as a retired military police officer who killed his mother along with other residents and staff.

The Western Balkans region remains ‘awash’ with weapons, fueling violence domestically and abroad, said a comment from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime earlier this year. 

Despite global attention shifting to new conflicts, the Western Balkans is plagued by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. 

Recent atrocities have underscored the urgency of addressing this issue, some of the most shocking being the live-streamed murder of three people in Bosnia & Herzegovina in August 2023 and two mass shootings in Serbia that left 18 dead in May 2023, sparking a wave of protests and moves towards tighter control of firearms.