On Friday, August 11, a man shot his ex-wife dead during an Instagram live session in Bosnia. The accused then killed two other people and injured three before taking his own life. The assailant has been identified as a bodybuilder named Nermin Sulejmanović, who is linked to a violent drug cartel.
According to the Tuzla City police, the attack transpired in the northern Bosnian town of Gradacac, where the attacker injured three persons before committing suicide “after he was located and before being apprehended.”
According to prosecutors, after killing her, the man went into Gradacac’s streets with a revolver and shot and murdered a man and his son, identified as Džengiz Onder and Džengiz Denis. He also injured a police officer, another male, and a woman in different parts of town.
The police said that Sulejmanović killed three people—the woman in the video and two other men, reported to be a father and son named Dengiz Onder and Dengiz Denis. He also injured three people, including a police officer, before being cornered by police and Bosnian special forces personnel. Sulejmanovi committed suicide after a brief skirmish with police.
“I have no words to describe what happened today in Gradacac,” said Bosnian Federation Prime Minister Nermin Niksic. “In the end, the murderer took his own life, but no one can bring the victims’ lives back.”
Sulejmanovi, a bodybuilder and fitness coach associated with a notorious Bosnian drug cartel based in Tuzla, was identified in local media as often the target of police probes, with multiple arrests and convictions for violence and drug dealing prior to the killings on Friday.
On Friday morning, the man posted a video to Instagram, promising viewers that they will witness a murder live. The video then shows him drawing a rifle and shooting a bullet into a woman’s forehead while a child’s wail can be heard somewhere close. The video was eventually taken down from Instagram.
Sulejmanovic removes the gun from the table and declares, “Hey guys, you’re going to see something you’ve never seen before — a live murder.” It’s a massacre. Look, when you’re dealing with a w**** who calls the cops on you.”
According to Bosnian media reports, the accused asked his ex-wife why she reported him to the police, and she said that she was scared for herself and the child.
People who left encouraging words while clicking on the man’s Instagram posts on Friday would be questioned and could face legal consequences, according to police.
Meanwhile, Ingrid Macdonald, the United Nations’ resident coordinator in Bosnia expressed dismay over the horrific incident.
“The United Nations is horrified by the fact that the murder of a female victim was live-streamed via a social network,” Macdonald said. “This is the latest in a string of femicide and severe cases of gender-based violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Bosnian media reported that Sulejmanović had been arrested multiple times for large-scale drug trafficking as well as multiple arrests for assault or use of a weapon and had served at least two years in prison.
