"Behavior in line with Montenegrins' temperament": Doctor's scandalous comment about Cetinje massacre

Foto: Profimedia/ Savo Prelević/AFP

Psychiatrist Branka Purlija appeared on Montenegro's public broadcaster to speak about a mass shooting happened on Friday in the country's capital, Cetinje. However, Dr. Purlija shocked the public by relativizing violence and saying that "such behavior is simply in the temperament of Montenegrins."

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"It is not an easy task to speak to the mental state, especially of a deceased person. Also, we must be aware that we live in Montenegro, that Montenegrins are known for their temperament, especially those in Cetinje. Very educated and gentlemanly people, people from Cetinje and Niksic and all Montenegrins in general. They are brave people, they have a distinct sense of humor, it is known that every building in Cetinje has its own name and each psychiatrist must know the mentality of the environment, that is, of that person. If you compare a young man from Vojvodina (Serbia's northern province) and a young man from Montenegro from any city, what a young man from Montenegro does, what is normal to us will look as violent behavior to a young man from Vojvodina. Which is not the case, it's simply in our temperament," Dr. Purlija said during her appearance on RTCG.

Her words provoked strong reactions from the public, who believe that she used her time on the public broadcaster to relativize violence and justify the horrific massacre that took place in Cetinje on Friday.

Психијатрица Бранка Пурлија објаснила због чега је дошло до трагедије на Цетињу pic.twitter.com/vuZJN2oiVZ— Neprijatni (@Neprijatni1) August 15, 2022

Vuk Borilovic killed ten of his neighbors using a hunting rifle, and wounded six more. Borilovic was then shot and killed, but it is still not clear whether the fatal bullet came from the police - or a civilian, another Cetinje native, Nenad Kaludjerovic.

A few days ago, Kaludjerovic gave a statement to the prosecutor and handed over his weapons. According to the reconstruction of events published by the police, Borilovic first killed his tenants Natasa Martinovic and her two underage sons.

The shooter then called the husband and the father of the three victims on the phone and told him, "I've killed your family, and mine." Over the following 45 minutes, inside a total distance of 80 meters from his house, Borilovic shot and killed seven more people and wounded six.

Among those wounded is a policeman who tried to overpower Borilovic, and later more police officers showed up at the scene.

(Telegraf.rs)