Six people were killed, and 15 people, including two police officers, were injured in a shooting near the main market square of Krakow in southern Poland, according to local authorities on Saturday.
Four of the victims killed in the shooting were women, and two were men, according to Krakow Police.
Police stated that the suspected shooter, an unidentified Polish citizen, began firing at random civilians from their car before being shot by police officers, detained, and transported to a local hospital.
Law enforcement reported that the shooter used an AR-15 rifle in the attack and was dressed in military-style clothing. Additional weapons and ammunition were found in the shooter’s vehicle.
"Everything points to the fact that the shooter was influenced by far-right ideology, a matter that will also be subject to investigation," Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski stated during a news briefing.
Kierwinski added that police officers and agents from Poland’s Internal Security Agency remain at the scene of the shooting and at the shooter’s family home.
PM Tusk extends condolences to family, loved ones of victims
A local told Polish newspaper Gazeta Krakowska that his wife works at the square and witnessed the shooting.
“She said someone was shooting a gun in the market square. People panicked and started running into the shops. Then, apparently, a police officer shot someone,” the local said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk offered his condolences to the loved ones of the victims of the shooting and praised the police officers who risked their lives to detain the shooter in a post on X/Twitter.
He asserted that an investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances of the attack and urged politicians not to exploit the tragedy of the shooting.