The deadliest single-perpetrator mass shooting in Croatian history, killing 9 people and wounding 7 at a New Year's Eve gathering in 1993.
Key Facts
- Date
- 1 January 1993
- Perpetrator
- Vinko Palić, age 28
- Killed
- 9 (including one police officer) people
- Wounded
- 7 severely people
- Weapon used
- Zastava M70
- Perpetrator's fate
- Suicide after police encirclement
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On New Year's Eve 1993, a gathering was held at a clergy house in Zrinski Topolovac, Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. Vinko Palić, a 28-year-old local man armed with a Zastava M70 rifle, targeted those assembled at the party, though no specific documented motive is recorded in available sources.
Palić opened fire at the New Year's Eve party inside the clergy house, shooting and killing nine people — including an on-duty police officer — and severely wounding seven others. After the attack, he was encircled by responding police and fled to a nearby street, where he died by suicide.
The shooting became the deadliest single-perpetrator gun attack in Croatian history. Families of the victims subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Croatian government, alleging negligence and failure to prevent the attack, raising questions about state liability and public safety.