Citizens of the United Kingdom and Austria are among the six people killed in the shooting on the central square in Krakow. This was announced by Krzysztof Jan Klenchar, the governor of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Four of the victims were Polish citizens, while the other two were a 32-year-old Briton and a 51-year-old Austrian woman.
The attack took place in the afternoon of November 7. According to Polish police, a 24-year-old man drove onto the central square and began shooting at random passers-by. Police officers shot him and detained him. The suspect was admitted to hospital in critical condition after undergoing several operations.
Citizens of five countries among the injured
Among the injured are citizens of the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Russia. The American news agency Associated Press reported 15 injured people, while Polish media put the number of casualties at 16, including the suspect. Two police officers involved in his detention were also injured.
Initially, the Polish authorities confirmed only that a British citizen was among those killed. Later, Klenchar said that the second foreign victim was an Austrian woman. “I can confirm that the 51-year-old woman who is the sixth victim was an Austrian citizen,” the governor said.
Investigation also being conducted as a terrorist case
Polish authorities said that the suspect held far-right and ultranationalist views. The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into murder and attempted murder committed under circumstances that could constitute a terrorist offence. According to police, there is no information about a second attacker.
The bodies of three people were found at the suspect’s home. Polish authorities said they were probably his relatives, but the circumstances surrounding their deaths are being clarified separately from the investigation into the shooting.
Following the attack, two days of national mourning were declared in Poland—November 8 and 9. The central square in Krakow, one of the country’s most visited tourist sites, remained cordoned off for investigative teams to carry out their work.
Sources: apnews.com, wydarzenia.interia.pl, tvp.info