Three staff members at a high school in the western Bosnian town of Sanski Most lost their lives on Wednesday when an employee of the school opened fire and then attempted to end his own life, according to police reports.
According to CNN, the incident occurred at approximately 10:15 a.m., when police were informed that a man had used an automatic rifle to attack the school, Adnan Beganovic, the police spokesman for Una-Sana canton, stated.
The shooter fatally wounded the school’s dean, secretary, and a teacher before turning the gun on himself, resulting in “grave injuries,” Beganovic said.
The suspect was later transferred to a nearby hospital in Banja Luka for urgent medical care.
Beganovic confirmed that a full investigation is currently in progress.
At the time of the shooting, the school was still closed for the summer break, so no students were present.
N1 TV, referencing eyewitness accounts, reported that the shooter was a janitor who had ongoing conflicts with the school’s management and was facing disciplinary action.
He allegedly targeted specific individuals during the attack. However, Reuters has not yet independently verified this report.
While mass shootings are not common in the Western Balkans, the region still has many weapons in private ownership, a remnant from the conflicts of the 1990s.
Just in July, a war veteran in neighboring Croatia killed five people, including his mother, at a nursing home and injured six others.
