SAEDNEWS: Six people were killed and 16 others injured in a shooting in central Krakow, Poland, on Saturday evening, according to Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported.
According to Saednews, A shooting in Krakow, Poland, left six people dead and several others injured, including two police officers and the gunman, according to reports.
Thirteen injured people were classified as the highest priority for emergency medical treatment upon admission to hospital, while one police officer remained in extremely critical condition, Kierwinski said, Xinhua reported.
Four of the six victims killed have been identified: three Polish women and one British citizen. The identities of the remaining two victims are still being verified. Five foreign nationals were among those injured, he added.
The suspect, a Polish national, was wearing military-style clothing and carrying a military-style long gun when police shot and arrested him at the intersection of Dietla and Stradom streets, a regional police representative told broadcaster TVN24. Officers also seized a large quantity of additional firearms and ammunition from his vehicle.
Citing unofficial police sources, news website Onet reported that the 24-year-old suspect had randomly opened fire on people while driving. Police officers subsequently pursued him and exchanged gunfire with him.
Regional police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said there was no confirmed evidence indicating the involvement of a second attacker. The suspect was not carrying any identification documents, and investigators established his identity through police operations, she added.
Speaking in Krakow on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incident as a terrorist attack, saying Poland had never previously experienced an act of terrorism of such magnitude, according to Onet.
Tusk said police, intelligence agencies and prosecutors would work to determine the suspect's motives as quickly as possible and make their findings public.
He also disclosed that police had discovered three bodies — two women and one man — at the suspect's residence in the Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski area of south-central Poland, PAP reported.
National police spokesperson Andrzej Fijolek said the victims were believed to be the suspect's parents and sister, although their identities had not yet been officially confirmed.
President Karol Nawrocki has declared Sunday and Monday national days of mourning, broadcaster RMF reported. Tusk said his office would coordinate the related arrangements.
Krakow's municipal authorities also announced that the city would observe the mourning period. Public events organized by the municipal government and city institutions have been canceled for the two days.
Krakow Mayor Lukasz Gibala said a crisis management team was working at city hall. He urged residents to remain calm and expressed his condolences to the victims' families.
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said prosecutors, police and other relevant agencies were collecting evidence and investigating the attack. He urged the public not to interfere with their work and stressed that the perpetrator would be held accountable.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz also pledged a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and the motives behind it.
