The future triple murderer spent days at Danilovgrad's Gaz beach on the banks of the Zeta River, hanging out with locals, swimmers, and hikers, whose attention was drawn to a thin stranger with unusual behavior who was camping in the bushes by the river.
Tucked away in the shade under a poplar tree, less than a kilometer from the city bridge, he pitched a tent at the end of August, using a sleeping bag and a rope between two trees, on which he dried laundry. From the wild camp, the solitary stranger went hiking in the surrounding villages, and because of his unusual appearance, he attracted the attention of Danilovgrad residents who met him in bars, markets...
All this was reported to the police by locals, when Mikhail Shabunin (30) recognized after his photo was published, as a suspect in the monstrous crime at the "Češka zbrojevka" shooting range.
"They also reported that he had been there for days, that he had been sitting with bathers, hanging out with them, but also sleeping by the river. The Higher State Prosecutor's Office, or rather the acting prosecutor, was notified of the report, and on whose orders an on-site investigation was conducted at Gaz beach," the police told Vijesti.
Locals told the newspaper that the Russian citizen was very strange to them, due to his hermit lifestyle and unusual way of communicating, but that he did not run away from people, but rather drank brandy with the picnickers and ate food that they offered him as a host.
On Monday, around 4:45 p.m., Šabinjin killed three employees - two young men - in a shooting range in the Danilovgrad settlement of Strahinjići. Petar Globarević (24) from Podgorica and four years younger Nemanja Kapor as well as a master instructor Momir Radonjić (67) from Danilovgrad.
After a police chase lasting several hours, the criminal committed suicide on the night between Monday and Tuesday when he realized he was surrounded in the forest next to the Austrian road above the Novi settlement of Topla...
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By van to the station
The taxi driver who drove Šabunjin to the Podgorica Bus Station to Herceg Novi after the crime, as his colleague told Vijesti, did not want to speak to the media, but as a witness he told the police the details of the trip with the Russian.
A colleague from the taxi association told Vijesti that the young man was in great shock and was unable to speak to the journalist, recounting the details he had told them.
"Šabunjin drove from Roge, where he left his car, to the Podgorica Bus Station in a van. When he arrived at the stop, he approached the taxi drivers and started negotiating the price for the ride to Herceg Novi. The standard fare is 150 euros, and the Russian tried to lower it, saying he had 90 or 100 euros," the taxi driver recounted.
He stated that the young colleague agreed to a lower price and took Šabunjin into his car, which he used to transport him to Herceg Novi.
During the ride, the Russian asked the taxi driver to drop him off above the last house in the Topla settlement, and after the taxi took him to his destination, Šabunjin said he did not have money to pay him, after which the taxi driver asked him for his phone and passport, and he left him his phone and passport.
When they parted ways, the taxi driver saw a photo on social media, published by the Police Department, and realized who his customer was, whom he had dropped off above Topla, and then called the police...
A day after a new tragedy, which, after Medovina and Cetinje, once again struck the heart of Montenegro, the key question is what prompted the Russian to brutally kill three employees in a shooting range.
The police, together with the National Security Agency and international services, are trying to gather as much information as possible about the criminal, collecting his contacts and lifestyle in order to compile a psychological and ideological profile of the murderer, as well as the reasons for his arrival and stay in Montenegro and what prompted him to commit the massacre.
In creating a psychological profile of the killer, investigators are also trying to determine an important detail in his actions after the murder. He was carrying two pistols with 230 rounds of ammunition in his backpack, and after the crime in the shooting range, he did not kill any of the passers-by, the people in the van or at the bus station, and ultimately not even the taxi driver who drove him to Herceg Novi.
Investigators are examining two phones used by the killer to verify who he was communicating with and what triggered the crime.
Since Shabunjin lived in a kind of isolation during his stay in Montenegro, the Russian did not attract the attention of the police or intelligence services, which is why there was no possible reaction by the services to predict and prevent the tragedy.
Crime reconstruction
According to the investigation, shortly before the massacre, Šabunjin came to the shooting range in Strahinjići, talked to the employees for a few minutes, and asked them for weapons to practice with.
Allegedly, after Kapor and Radonjić offered him a revolver, he told them he didn't want the weapon because "it knows how to brake and jerk", and then asked for two "CZs".
"He went down to the firing line, where Petar was waiting for him, who had set up targets. The Russian set up two pistols, and then briefly fired at the targets with both weapons. After firing a few rounds, he suddenly turned around and fired shots at Petar, and then ran at full speed to the house, killed Mom, then Nemanja. The footage shows that he was laughing as he killed all three. Then he ran back to the firing line, the video footage shows him running very quickly, and then shot Petar again. He then took a bunch of keys from his pocket, entered the secured area where the ammunition was and escaped with the stolen ammunition," the newspaper's source said.
The same source said that it is evident that Šabunjin is a professional shooter or has undergone top-notch shooting training.
"Believe me, there are few people in Montenegro who could now shoot two weapons at once like the Russian did," said the interlocutor, who is familiar with the footage from surveillance cameras that also record sound.
After killing the employees, the Russian fled in Globarević's car through the settlements between the main road and the old road to Spuž, and then to Roge, where he left the Seat Cordoba.
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At a nearby bus stop, he approached a kiosk worker and asked which public transport to take to the Podgorica Bus Station.
After that, a van arrived, which he used to get to the station, and then hired a taxi driver to Herceg Novi.
At 3:35 he committed suicide, after shooting at the police who surrounded him.
Are the current protocols sufficient for safe operation at shooting ranges?
After the crime in Strahinjići, the question for the services will be to investigate whether all safety protocols were followed at the "Češka zbrojevka" shooting range, but also whether employees were trained to conduct a security assessment of visitors upon entry.
Civilian and sports shooting ranges in Montenegro operate under the Law on Weapons and the safety rules of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The only requirement for using the services of a commercial shooting range is that the client is of legal age and that they present a valid document to the staff to record the visit. This could mean that anyone who wants to can come, rent a gun and shoot at a target with live ammunition.
While on the firing line, supervision and assistance from a licensed shooting instructor is mandatory, and access by persons under the influence of alcohol or opiates is prohibited.
In EU countries and the USA, licensed instructors are allowed to carry weapons with bullets in the barrel precisely to defend themselves against possible attacks at the shooting range. Such a possibility does not exist legally in Montenegro.
The question is also whether a private shooting range should hire armed security to monitor the work and behavior of visitors at the shooting range.
Russian journalist claims Shabunya is the son of a former judge from Perm
Russian investigative journalist Sergei Yezhov announced that Mikhail Shabunin's father is a former judge, who graduated from the Higher School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and worked in the prosecutor's office in Perm.
In the post, he linked the claim about his judicial position to the official website of the Osinsky District Court in the Perm Territory.
Publicly available court records confirm that Nikolai Stanislavovich Shabunin was a judge at that court until 2016. The murderer's middle name is Nikolaevich, his origin is from Perm, and the information published by Yezhov indicates that he is his father, but Vijesti has not yet found a public document that explicitly confirms their relationship.
Who are the innocent people, killed at work they loved?
Petar Globarević, who had worked as a shooting instructor at the company for the past two years, was killed in the crime at the shooting range in Danilovgrad.
Globarević underwent training in safe and secure handling of weapons, and at the shooting range he was responsible for instructing clients in shooting and supervising them while they shot at targets.
His colleague, Nemanja Kapor, who is four years younger than him, volunteered at the "Češka zbrojevka" shooting range in Danilovgrad two months ago, as a shooting enthusiast.
Nemanja was a student of energy and automation at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and his fellow students said goodbye to him yesterday with a touching message.
"Nemanja will be remembered as a positive and friendly young man, always ready for a kind word and a smile...", they wrote in the post.
Danilovgrad resident Momir Radonjić worked at the shooting range for years, and after retiring, he devoted himself entirely to his work at the shooting range in Danilovgrad, which is located near the house where he lived with his family.
All three will be buried today.
Surrounded killer shoots police, then commits suicide
Twenty-five minutes before four o'clock, the crisis situation that lasted almost several hours ended - officers of the Special Police Unit, the Special Police Unit, the Regional Security Center "South" and the Border Police Sector, using specialized equipment and a helicopter of the Army of Montenegro, located and isolated an active threat in the forest above the settlement of Topla in Herceg Novi - the suspected triple murderer Mikhail Nikolaevich Šabunjin (30), a citizen of the Russian Federation.
The director of that security institution, Lazar Šćepanović, told Vijesti before dawn that Šabunjin, after being surrounded and finding himself in a hopeless situation, opened fire on police officers:
"And then committed suicide by using a firearm."
Somewhat later, Šćepanović issued an official statement thanking all members of the Police Directorate, managers and police officers for their uncompromising commitment, professionalism and sacrifice in resolving this crisis situation.
"At the same time, I extend my deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of the victims," the statement reads.
He said that the officers of the Police Directorate are continuing their activities in cooperation with the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, with the aim of determining all the circumstances of this event, including its cause and motive, and fully clarifying the entire situation.
The Police Department announced earlier yesterday that officers from the Herceg Novi Security Department, in coordination with the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, conducted an on-site investigation in the forest above the Topla settlement in Herceg Novi, where the suspect in the triple murder, Mikhail Nikolaevich Shabunin (30), a citizen of the Russian Federation, was killed on the night between Monday and Tuesday.
"During the investigation, two pistols and more than 230 rounds of ammunition were found and seized, which the suspect is suspected of having stolen from the shooting range in Danilovgrad yesterday, after committing the crime, as well as a mobile phone, tablets and other items. The found items will be sent for further expert examination, while officers of the Police Directorate, in cooperation with the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, continue their activities to determine all the circumstances of the incident," the UP announced.
Gratitude to the police, army and ANB
President Jakov Milatović yesterday thanked members of the Police Administration, the Army, the National Security Agency, as well as all other services that participated in the search for the perpetrator of the triple murder in Danilovgrad.
He said that these are moments of great sadness and shock for all of Montenegro.
"With a quick reaction, the competent security services located the perpetrator during the night and prevented a further threat to the safety of citizens. I would like to especially thank the police officers and members of the Army of Montenegro who, risking their own lives, professionally and responsibly carried out their task. Their courage and dedication to their service deserve the respect of all of Montenegro," said Milatović.
The head of state said that our country is once again facing the security challenges of the modern world.
"We must respond to them with strong institutions, professional services and decisive action by the state. I once again extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. In these difficult moments, all of Montenegro must stand with them," concluded Milatović.
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Deputy Prime Minister for Security, Defense, Crime Prevention and Internal Policy Aleksa Bečić and Minister of Internal Affairs Danilo Šaranović, in a joint statement yesterday, assessed that the efficient actions of the competent authorities enabled the rapid identification of Šabunjin, the reconstruction of his movements and the intensive search, which ended, as they said, with him being brought under control.
They thanked the Director of the Police Department, Lazar Šćepanović, and all members of the Police Department who, as they stated, have participated in numerous activities, invested great efforts, and exposed themselves to risks since learning of the serious murder.
They particularly highlighted members of specialized police units who were on the front lines when finding and surrounding the suspect.
"The message from last night that the state will not stop until he is found, that we have maximum confidence in the members of the Police Directorate and the entire security system, and that we expect the suspect in the serious murder to be found very soon, has proven to be justified," Bečić and Šaranović stated.
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They also highlighted the contribution of members of the National Security Agency (ANB) and the Ministry of Defense, i.e. the Army of Montenegro, who were involved in the action in accordance with their responsibilities.
The entire intelligence and security sector acted professionally, compactly and homogeneously, they said and thanked citizens for their responsible attitude, understanding, patience and following the instructions of the competent authorities.
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