Budva Murder: Montenegrin Police Arrest Colombian Man
A Turkish citizen (49) was killed in a shooting on Jadranski Put, and the suspect was caught after a short chase carrying two pistols, Montenegro's Police Directorate says.
Montenegro’s Police Directorate said on November 12 that a Colombian citizen, C. A. B. R. (46), has been arrested over the Budva murder committed the previous evening, on suspicion of aggravated murder. The victim is a Turkish citizen with the initials O. K. (49), who according to media reports owned a local business.
Both the victim and the suspect are foreign nationals, and the official account of events, laid out in two police statements, differs clearly from what the first, unofficial reports tried to piece together that night.
What did police say about the Budva shooting?
The first statement came on Wednesday evening, November 11. Police said in it:
Tonight, at about 21:10, the Budva Security Department duty service was notified that a firearm had been used. On arrival at the scene it was established that one person had been killed. Immediately after the incident, officers of the Budva Security Department set up blockades and took urgent measures to identify, locate and catch the perpetrator of the criminal offense.
According to the second statement, the shooting took place on Jadranski Put street. Officers found a man with no signs of life, and the emergency medical team could only confirm his death.
How was the suspect arrested?
After a short chase, the suspect was located and brought under control, which prevented his escape. He was armed when found: police seized two pistols with loaded magazines, described in the statement as “two pieces of firearms.”
Police describe the prosecution side of the case this way:
The competent state prosecutor at the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica was notified of the incident without delay and, with the assistance of Budva Security Department officers, carried out an on-site investigation and led further procedural actions.
After the on-site investigation, the prosecutor ordered that the Colombian man be detained on suspicion of aggravated murder in conjunction with the illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosive materials. This is a suspicion only, and guilt has not been established.
What did the first reports claim, and what do police confirm?
That evening, citing Montenegrin media and unofficial information, early reports spoke of one dead man and one wounded man who fled. The body, according to those accounts, was left on the pavement outside a restaurant near the main traffic light, and police allegedly found the wounded man near a nearby primary school with two pistols on him. A search for two more men was also mentioned, who were unofficially said to be Turkish citizens. According to eyewitnesses, police blocked the main intersection and the restaurant was searched.
The official statement says nothing about a wounded man and mentions only one person killed and one detained. It therefore remains unclear whether the wounded man from the first reports is the same person as the arrested Colombian. Only the blockades and urgent measures to locate the perpetrator have been confirmed.
Police and the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica are continuing work to clarify all the circumstances of the killing. In the first statement, police also promised the following: “The public will be informed of the outcome of the activities undertaken in a timely manner.”
