Dejan Kostic, known as Dela, a former leader of the ultras group "Lesinari" supporting FC Borac, was fatally shot Saturday evening in the parking lot of the Stara Ada restaurant in Banja Luka.

The scene is under heavy police surveillance, with numerous law enforcement and medical personnel present. The area was cordoned off, and Kostic’s body was covered at the scene, the local media outlet ATV reported.

Kostic was well-known to police and judicial authorities, with a history of convictions for violent crimes, including assault, shootings, and attempted murder. He had been the subject of a police warrant.

He gained public notoriety in 2019 when a video emerged showing him abusing a waiter. For that incident, he was fined 9,000 Bosnian marks (some €4,500) for the crime of abuse, torture, and other inhumane and degrading behaviour.

According to Court documents, on April 24, 2019, Kostic summoned the waiter to a restroom in a café on Stepe Stepanovica Street in Banja Luka, intending to intimidate him.

“Inside the restroom, Kostic began striking the victim in the face while accusing him of being involved in an attack with two other men the previous day. Kostic recorded the assault on his phone, forcing the victim to insult himself, and later made the footage public,” the indictment read.

The assault caused the victim significant pain and constituted the crime of inhumane and degrading treatment, the indictment added.
A troubled past
Kostic, who was once identified as the leader of FK Borac’s “Lesinari”, survived a shooting in 2022 in Banja Luka’s Starcevica neighbourhood when he was wounded in the thigh and taken to the University Clinical Center for treatment.

Following last night’s fatal shooting, at least one man has been arrested, according to reports from Banja Luka media. The police investigation is ongoing.