The Zrinski Topolovac shooting was a

mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

that occurred in

Zrinski Topolovac Zrinski Topolovac is a village and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. History In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zrinski Topolovac was part of the Bjelovar-Križevci County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. On Januar ...

Bjelovar-Bilogora County Bjelovar-Bilogora County (; ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in central Croatia. The central city of Bjelovar was first mentioned in 1413, and it only gained importance when a new fort was built in 1756 to defend against the Ottoman Empire, O ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

on 1 January 1993, when 28-year-old soldier Vinko Palić killed nine people and wounded seven others at a

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

party, before committing suicide.

Shooting

In the first hours of 1 January 1993 in the

clergy house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

, the party (attended by about 40 people) took place. During the party, Vinko Palić and another man disputed over a woman. After the dispute, Palić went home, at home he changed into a military uniform, took an

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of Self-loading rifle, autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic firearm, automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally selective fire, select-fire weapons capable of firing in Semi-automatic firearm, semi ...

and returned to the party. At the party, he shot dead 8 guests, including his rival, the woman who he disputed over and his brother, and injured 6 others. He also killed one police officer and wounded another when they arrived on call. The shooting lasted two hours, during the shooting he spared the priest, saying "You, I won't, you're a priest". After the shooting, he committed suicide.

Perpetrator

Vinko Palić (28) was a soldier of the 105th Brigade of the Croatian Army. He had returned from the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

two weeks before the shooting. Another weapon was found in his house.

References

{{reflist 1990s murders in Croatia 1993 crimes in Croatia 1993 in Croatia 1993 mass shootings in Europe 1993 murders in Europe Attacks during New Year celebrations Deaths by firearm in Croatia Fratricides January 1993 crimes January 1993 in Europe Mass murder in 1993 Mass shootings in Croatia Massacres in Croatia Murder–suicides in Croatia Suicides by firearm in Croatia