An unidentified gunman opened fire on a bus carrying teenagers in western Kosovo on Friday, killing three people and injuring another, police and media reported. .
Fadil Gashi, a police spokesman in the nearby city of Peja, said the bus was attacked in Gllogjan, 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital Pristina at about 1800 GMT. The driver died instantly and the three teenagers were taken to hospital, where two of them died.
Besnik Ibraj, of the hospital’s emergency unit in Peja, said the third teenager was injured and in stable condition, according to the Koha newspaper’s website.
Veton Elshani, deputy police chief in Peja, said a masked gunman fired a Kalashnikov automatic rifle at the bus carrying eight teenagers.
Gashi did not provide a motive for the attack, saying it was “too early” in the investigation.
Elshani later said: “There is no reason to believe it was an act of terrorism.
Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla cut short his visit to neighboring Albania and to Gllogjan.
President Vjosa Osmani called the attack “shocking” and urged law enforcement officials to find the perpetrators as quickly as possible.
“The school bus attack is a blow to our public security. Citizen security is a priority and we will not back down in fulfilling such a mission,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said police were mobilized “to the best of their ability to investigate such a serious crime and bring to justice.”
Kosovo and Albanian Cabinets held a joint meeting early Friday.
“Life in Kosovo being bulleted by a wild act worthy of severe punishment from justice has saddened us all,” neighboring Albanian counterpart Edi Rama wrote on Twitter.
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Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.
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