CETINJE, Montenegro, Jan 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Thousands of people gathered Sunday in Montenegro's town of Cetinje and in the capital city Podgorica to commemorate the victims of a deadly mass shooting earlier this week, demanding accountability from the authorities.

A 45-year-old man on Wednesday opened fire at a restaurant in the southern town of Cetinje, launching a killing spree that left 12 dead, including two children and four wounded.

Thousands turned up outside the interior ministry in Podgorica at a protest organised by the student organisation "Kamo Sjutra" (Where Tomorrow).

Demonstrators brandished placards that read "Sadness, revolt, anger", "No turning back", "Danger for everyone" and chanted "resignations".

"Be fair and correct, innocent citizens suffered during your time. You failed to protect us and that's why -- resignations!", a spokesperson for the collective told the crowd.

The organisers issued several demands, chief among them the resignations of Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic and Vice-Prime Minister for Security and Defence Aleksa Becic.

Other demands included the disarmament of Montenegrin society, the confiscation of illegal weapons, moratorium of issuing weapons licences and stationing police patrols in local communities.

Earlier on Sunday, a vigil organised by the same student organisation was held in Cetinje.

More than one thousand people stood still in silence for 12 minutes, symbolising the number of victims, according to an AFP reporter.

Residents laid flowers and lit candles in the central part of Cetinje, which saw its second mass shooting in less than three years.

Participants in the vigil did not carry banners but intended to "give support to the town and to the families of the victims", the organisers said in a statement Sunday.

The Balkan country's authorities have come under criticism by the opposition and citizens for the slow reaction of law enforcement as the killing spree spanned over 30 minutes and five different locations.

It took police around six hours to locate the attacker, who died after he shot himself when he was surrounded.

- Tightened measures -

According to the Swiss research programme Small Arms Survey (SAS), Montenegro -- a nation of just over 620,000 people -- has approximately 245,000 firearms in circulation including 140,000 unregistered.

Montenegrin authorities on Friday announced measures to curb illegal weapons in the country, including legal changes, tougher penalties for unlawful possession, stricter conditions for acquiring arms, as well as a two-month campaign for owners to voluntarily give up their illegal weapons.

Cetinje, with a population of around 13,000 people, is the site of the former royal capital and sits in a mountainous valley that has largely stagnated economically.

In 2022, a man murdered 10 Cetinje residents, including two children, in broad daylight before being killed, in one of the deadliest such incidents to rock the country.

The area and its surroundings are strongholds of organised criminal groups, and clashes erupt sporadically between rival mafia clans.

Organised crime and corruption remain two major issues plaguing Montenegro that authorities have pledged to tackle in its bid to join the European Union.