Polish authorities launch 'terror' probe into Krakow shooting that killed six

[Financial News] Polish authorities have decided to expand their investigation into the Krakow shooting that occurred on the 7th (local time), treating it as an act of “terrorism.” The suspect, who killed six people, is believed to have harmed his own family before the attack.
According to France's Agence France-Presse (AFP), Polish prosecutors said in a statement on the 8th that they had opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder, saying, “This act of killing six people in the shooting and attempting to kill many others, including police officers, constitutes a terrorist crime.” The previous day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, “There has never been such an extreme terrorist incident in Poland before,” adding, “We must call this brutal attack, carried out with people's lives as its target, what it is: terrorism.”
The shooting took place at around 3 p.m. on the 7th in the central square of Krakow's Old Town, Poland's second-largest city. The suspect drove around in a vehicle, firing indiscriminately at passersby. He fled by car, but after colliding with another vehicle, got out and resisted police before being subdued.
The six confirmed dead so far include two foreign nationals: a 32-year-old British man and a 51-year-old Austrian woman. Of the 16 injured, five are foreign nationals from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom; 13 of the injured have been hospitalized with serious injuries.
The arrested suspect was identified as a 24-year-old Polish man. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect had “very radical and extreme nationalist leanings.”
Investigators found the bodies of three family members, including his parents and younger sister, at his home in Ostrowiec, about 150 kilometers northeast of Krakow. Police believe the suspect killed his family at home, then drove his father's car to Krakow and committed further crimes there.
At the time of the attack in Krakow, the suspect had a semi-automatic rifle believed to be an AR-15-type weapon, a handgun and optical sights, among other items. Authorities seized a total of 11 firearms: four from the vehicle and seven from the home.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki declared a period of national mourning for the 8th and 9th and offered his condolences to the victims. He also decided to award medals to two police officers who were shot while subduing the suspect, fell into comas and regained consciousness on the 8th.
 

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