On Easter Sunday, 31 March 1991, Croatian police from the Croatian Ministry of the Interior entered the Plitvice Lakes national park to expel the rebel Serb forces. Serb paramilitaries ambushed a bus carrying Croatian police into the national park on the road north of Korenica, sparking a day-long gun battle between the two sides. Jovic was struck by burst fire at the post office building, penetrating his bulletproof vest.

One Serb rebel was killed in the operation and several were wounded and arrested. One of those arrested was Goran Hadzic but he was released from custody. He later became a Croatian Serb rebel leader and today he is being tried for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

This was the first victory of the Croatian police and the day was letter dubbed Bloody Easter.