January 30, 2021 – Four people killed in the Sibenik area today. Namely, at about 1 pm, one man was killed in Vodice. Shortly afterward, information arrived about a shooting in Šibenik, where three more people were killed. At about 7 pm, the police found the killer's dead body near Vodice. It is presumed that he commited suicide.
According to the first information, one man was killed with an automatic rifle in front of the "Djelo" store in Vodice. Šibenik.hr unofficially reports that he is a well-known entrepreneur. The attacker continued the bloody raid in Šibenik, in a bakery in the Ražina area, where three other people were shot. However, the police have not yet confirmed the link between these two murders.
Shortly after 3 pm, the Šibenik police reported on the events in a statement.
"The Šibenik-Knin Police Department received a report at 12:56 pm that a dead man had been found in a vehicle by the road in Vodice. At 1:23 pm, police received a second report from the Ambulance about three dead people, two men and a woman, in a facility on the South Highway. Initial information indicates that persons died a violent death.
An investigation is underway at both sites, and at this moment, we cannot confirm whether the deaths were related. Additional police forces were immediately sent to the field to find the person that could be linked to the found persons' death.
The Šibenik-Knin Police Department will promptly inform the public with new, verified, and confirmed information," the Šibenik police reported.
As Jutarnji.hr reports, after a police's statement, unofficial information was published but soon refuted that the suspected perpetrator, allegedly the owner of a stumbled bakery chain, had killed himself. The police denied that information, publishing the car brand and license plates of the male person being linked to the events.
"In connection with the events mentioned above, we are bringing a male person driving a ŠKODA KAROQ personal vehicle, gray, with license plates ŠI-959-HF. We call on citizens to report the location to the police at the following telephone numbers: 192, 022 / 347-139, or 022 / 347-446. We warn citizens not to approach the vehicle but to inform the police immediately. "
Slobodna Dalmacija writes that he is allegedly in a house that is under siege by the police.
As Večernji.hr reports, the police surrounded the area where the perpetrator (or several perpetrators) of the murder in Šibenik and Vodice are allegedly hiding. There is no official confirmation of the number of perpetrators yet and the identity of those killed.
Information about the events change from moment to moment, and Croatian media report that among killed was the owner of a retail chain, Šibenik bankruptcy trustee and city councilwoman and her husband, and another creditor. Unofficial information says that the killer is the owner of a failed Šibenik company that had a number of bakeries and shops in the city, but went bankrupt. The victims' friends claim that an unresolved business relationship caused the tragedy.
The streets of Vodice have been flooded with special forces since early afternoon. A Mercedes in which the victim was allegedly sitting at the time of the murder was parked in front of the "Djelo" store. The Šibenik police are on the streets, the Šibenik bridge, and the intersection in Ražine, where they have set up blockades and inspect cars.
UPDATE:
As Hina reports, Branko Koloper, who killed four people in Šibenik and Vodice earlier today, was found dead after most likely committing suicide.
According to the first information from police, Koloper's dead body was found just before 7 pm in an open space near Vodice. The vehicle that the police were searching for was also found. An inquest should confirm whether it was a suicide, as is presumed. Police did not reveal his identity.
From sources close to the investigation, Koloper, the owner of the bankrupt company Matkol, killed the married couple Mario and Radojka Danek and Toni Šparada in Šibenik with automatic weapons. In Vodice, he killed the executive director of the Djelo retail chain, Tedi Slamić.
A spokesman for the Šibenik-Knin Police Department, Šime Pavić, previously confirmed that the perpetrator was in a business relationship with the victims. The murdered Radojka Danek was the bankruptcy trustee of Koloper's company Matkol, but also the Šibenik city councilor from the ranks of the HDZ.
According to media reports, the spouses Danek and Šparada were killed in Šibenik's Ražine, where Koloper has a production plant. After shooting them with a 'Kalashnikov', he allegedly drove to Vodice where he shot Slamić in front of his shop.
