A top-level meeting in Montenegro on Friday looked for ways to curb illegal weapons after a gunman fatally shot 12 people in a second such tragedy in less than three years in the small Balkan country.

A man shot dead 12 people in a rampage in a small town in Montenegro before turning his gun on himself early on Thursday, authorities said, in one of the Balkan nation's worst mass killings.

The New Year’s Day shooting shocked a country where gun ownership is widespread. Montenegro’s government began a three-day mourning period Thursday after a gunman opened fire on New Year’s Day — killing 12 people, including two children, across several locations.