War veteran kills five people at care home

The attack took place in a small spa town in Croatia

Five people have been killed in a shooting at a nursing home in Croatia, local media have reported. The attack in the small resort town of Daruvar is said to have been carried out by a veteran of the country’s independence war of the 1990s.

According to the MojPortal news outlet, an armed man entered the facility on Monday morning and started shooting. Five people are said to have been killed at the scene and several others were taken to hospital.

Croatian President Zoran Milovic and Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

The attacker is said to be 51-year-old military police officer Kresimir Pahoki, a veteran of the 1991-1995 war of independence, called the Homeland War in Croatia.

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The conflict followed the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which Croatia was a part of, along with Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

The attacker was known to police for an earlier assault on an acquaintance, and is said to have had issues with alcohol, according to the Index news portal.

The assailant’s mother, a resident in the home, was reportedly one of the victims of the shooting. Other victims include residents and employees of the home.

The attacker escaped after the shooting spree but was detained by police shortly after. The local authorities said an investigation into the incident is underway.

The care home is said to be a private facility that houses about 20 people.

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The small town of Daruvar is some 130km east of the Croatian capital, Zagreb. With a population of 8,500, the town boasts numerous hot springs and is a destination for health tourism.