Bosnian police return from chasing a suspected serial killer in the village of Medvjedice 30 kms south of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. Bosnia police on Tuesday shot and killed the country's most-wanted fugitive, who had been sought in the slayings of a police officer and another person, after a huge manhunt. Edin Gacic died after a shootout with police near the capital Sarajevo, police said. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
Republished February 12, 2019 - 11:32 AM
Original Publication Date February 12, 2019 - 8:31 AM
SARAJEVO, Bosnia - Bosnia police shot and killed the country's most-wanted fugitive Tuesday after a huge manhunt for the suspect in the slayings of a police officer and another person.
Edin Gacic died after a shootout with officers near Sarajevo, police said. A policeman was slightly wounded in the shootout, Sarajevo police commissioner Mevludin Halilovic said.
Police sealed off the snow-covered mountainous area where Gacic had been located after a search involving hundreds of police and other security officers.
Halilovic said police received hundreds of tips, but one that came from state intelligence agency OSA on Monday evening proved to be correct.
"We surrounded and secured the wider area and the location itself so that there was no way for him to pull out," Halilovic explained. He said Gacic refused to surrender to police.
Gacic is suspected of killing a grocery store owner and the police officer last week. Investigators haven't established a motive. The killings had triggered panic in Bosnia.
The 42-year-old served two prison sentences for murder but was released in 2017 after serving two-thirds of the 20-year term. His victims were his mother and a man who served with a battalion of Muslim volunteers during Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
Police had offered 25,000 euros ($28,000) for information on Gacic's whereabouts.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019