Serbian authorities on Friday killed the alleged gunman who shot a police officer dead this week near the border with Bosnia, officials said.
The suspect’s killing came more than a day after the violence that also wounded another officer during a routine vehicle inspection near the western Serbian city of Loznica.
“Police officers eliminated the killer of the policeman near the vicinity of Loznica,” said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic in a statement.
According to Dacic, a local resident reported the suspect in the afternoon.
After he was located near a river he fired nine shots at the police before he “was neutralised”.
Following the shooting, a manhunt was launched in the area involving special units, helicopters and drones, while Bosnian authorities also joined the search on their side of the border.
Serbian police said a Kosovo passport and a German identification card were recovered from the scene of the shooting.
The incident risks fanning simmering tensions with Serbia’s arch-rival Kosovo, after Dacic suggested the shooting might have been a “terrorist attack” linked to Kosovo.
Pristina’s government was quick to dismiss the allegation, with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti saying the shooting should not be “politicised”.
In the past year, Serbian officials have increased patrols along the border with Bosnia in a bid to stem illegal crossings by migrants.
Serbia has one of the highest gun-ownership rates in the world, with 39 firearms for every 100 civilians, according to the Small Arms Survey project.
