The Europol Trade Union sends a message of solidarity to Polish police officers following the attack in Kraków, which left six dead and 15 injured

The Europol Trade Union expresses its solidarity with Polish police officers following the armed attack carried out on Saturday in the old center of the city of Krakow, which left six people dead and another 15 injured. Among the victims are five foreign citizens and ten Poles.

According to reports in the Polish press, the attacker, identified as Michal O., drove a car near a square heavily frequented by tourists and fired randomly at pedestrians, taxi drivers, and carriage drivers. The police intervened within minutes and began pursuing him.

The man, dressed in military gear and armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, exchanged fire with two police officers after crashing his car into another vehicle. Both officers were injured, but one of them managed to neutralize the attacker, despite having been shot three times.

“We do not realize the importance of police officers’ work except in situations like these, in which the lack of prompt intervention can mean three, four, or even more additional victims,” the Europol Trade Union states, according to stirileprotv.ro.

The Europol Trade Union says that the police officer’s rapid intervention probably prevented a higher number of victims. The organization recalls the significance of the oath taken by police officers, “even at the cost of their lives,” and conveys its condolences to the families of those killed and its support to those injured.

Investigators say that the attacker had no criminal record but was a member of a shooting club. Poland’s Interior Minister stated that he may have been influenced by far-right ideologies.