A top-level meeting in Montenegro on Friday looked for ways to curb illegal weapons after a gunman fatally shot 12 people in a second such tragedy in less than three years in the small Balkan country.

Officials say a gunman opened fire at multiple locations in Montenegro, killing a dozen people before turning the gun on himself.

A man shot dead 12 people in a rampage in a small town in Montenegro before turning his gun on himself early on Thursday, authorities said, in one of the Balkan nation's worst mass killings.

Montenegro authorities are considering a total ban on gun ownership in the aftermath of a cafe shooting that left at least 12 dead, including two children, in the city of Cetinje Wednesday.

The New Year’s Day shooting shocked a country where gun ownership is widespread. Montenegro’s government began a three-day mourning period Thursday after a gunman opened fire on New Year’s Day — killing 12 people, including two children, across several locations.

The authorities in the small Balkan country reported after a search that the gunman, whose rampage followed a bar fight, had been found dead.

The 45-year-old gunman had been drinking all day when he got into a fight at a restaurant, which led to the rampage, authorities said.

A gunman has killed 12 people, including two children, in a series of shootings in southern Montenegro. Authorities said the man - later identified as Aco Martinovic, 45 - had been drinking heavily all day when got into an altercation with another guest at a restaurant in the Cetinje area around 17.30 (16.30 GMT) on New Year's Day.

A gunman who fatally shot at least 12 people, including two children, in Montenegro has killed himself while surrounded by police, officials said Thursday.