Star Metro - Nursing home shooting kills six in Croatia

FIve residents and one employee were dead after the gunman entered the private nursing home in eastern Croatia's Daruvar and went on a killing spree, according to police.

The gunman then fled the scene and was later arrested at a cafe, where he was carrying unregistered firearms.

The man had a previous police record for disturbing public order and domestic abuse, said Croatian national police chief Nikola Milina.

Officials first reported that five people had been killed during the shooting, but Milina confirmed a sixth victim died after being transported to a hospital.

"This is an unprecedented crime," Social Policy Minister Marin Piletic told reporters in Daruvar.

"It remains to be seen in the coming days why this has happened," he added.

In the shooting's wake, police sealed off the private nursing home located along a quiet street in Daruvar, where a small crowd gathered and watched as a forensics team entered the residence.

Police said they were informed of the incident at 10:10 am local time (0810 GMT), and confirmed the suspect had entered the nursing home and used a firearm.

Local media reports later described the suspected shooter as a retired military police officer who had fought in Croatia's war of independence during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995.

- 'A terrifying warning' -

As news of the shooting spread, shock rippled through Daruvar -- a quiet town of some 7,000 -- that has long been a popular spa destination thanks to the area's thermal springs.

"It's hard for me to understand that this can happen in our town, country," Daruvar mayor Damir Lnenicek told N1 regional broadcaster.

Around 20 people lived in the nursing home at the time of the shooting, according to the mayor.

"What is the trigger? It's difficult to say, it will be determined by the investigation" Lnenicek added.

Following the shooting, Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic took to social media where he called the shooting "savage".

"It is a terrifying warning and a last call to all competent institutions to do more to prevent violence in society, including even more rigorous control of arms ownership," said the president.

Shootings in Croatia are rare, with Monday's incident among the worst in Croatia's history since the declared independence in 1991.

Last year in neighbouring Serbia, the country was rocked by back-to-back mass shootings, including a massacre at a school in the capital in Belgrade in which 10 people were killed.

S.Morin--SMC