Molotov cocktail thrown at cafe in New Belgrade

An unidentified person threw a Molotov cocktail at a cafe on Milutina Milankovica Boulevard in New Belgrade. The attack happened at around 2 a.m. on July 15. The attacker first smashed the venue’s front window, then threw the incendiary device through the opening. Police arrived at the scene immediately and carried out a forensic examination.

The fire caught part of the interior but did not spread. A security guard was inside the venue at the time. He used a fire extinguisher straight away and contained the fire before the flames reached the rest of the premises. Thanks to that response, no one was hurt. The venue sustained material damage.

The investigation is being led by the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. Prosecutors are working to establish the identity of the perpetrator and all the circumstances of the incident. No arrests have been made so far, and no legal classification of the offence has been announced.

Why did the guard’s response matter so much?

A Molotov cocktail is an improvised incendiary device. The way it was used here, through a deliberately smashed shop window, means the flammable liquid landed directly inside the venue. Hospitality interiors burn fast. Furniture, textiles and bar fittings can carry a flame across a room in minutes.

The gap between the device landing and the first response is therefore decisive. In this case a security guard was on the premises and used the extinguisher at once. Had the venue been left unattended overnight, the flames would have had time to take hold of a much larger area. That would have made this a story with a different outcome, and possibly with casualties.

This is also why, in legal terms, cases like this are not judged solely by the damage caused. The danger created by the device is weighed as well. The final legal classification will come from the prosecution, based on the findings of the scene examination and the evidence gathered.

What prosecutors are doing now

The scene examination is the first and irreplaceable step. Investigators collect remnants of the device, traces of the flammable liquid, fragments of the broken glass and other physical evidence. Those traces go to forensic analysis, which should establish the composition of the liquid used and how the device was assembled. Both can point towards the perpetrator.

The next step is reviewing CCTV footage. Milutina Milankovica Boulevard is a monitored thoroughfare, and venues along it usually run their own cameras. At this stage prosecutors are also taking statements from the security guard, staff and any witnesses.

Only once those findings come together will prosecutors decide whether there are grounds to proceed, and against whom. For as long as the process continues, this remains a pre-trial phase built on suspicion, not on established fact. No individual has been named as a suspect at this point.

The attack was carried out at night, on a venue with no customers inside. That is a circumstance prosecutors will weigh when establishing intent, meaning what the attack was meant to achieve. Motive is not assumed. It has to be proven.

Do you think overnight CCTV coverage should be mandatory for hospitality venues in Belgrade?