Gunman wounds police officer outside Croatian government headquarters before killing himself

A gunman injured a police officer outside the Croatian government headquarters in Zagreb before killing himself, according to police.

The suspect fled the scene after shooting a 31-year-old officer in St. Mark’s Square, which hosts the Croatian parliament building and other important state institutions, they said.

The alleged perpetrator, a 22-year-old Croatian citizen, later committed suicide in the nearby Jabukovac area.

Authorities said the suspect was not previously known to them and no motive for the shooting has been confirmed.

The injured police officer underwent surgery after being shot four times in the arm and torso and his condition was described as "stable".

Authorities seized weapons at the suspect's home and his father was briefly detained for possession of two rifles and over 1,000 pieces of ammunition, police said in a statement.

He was released after questioning, the local prosecutor's office confirmed on Tuesday.

weapons at the home of the suspect and detained the man's father for possession of two rifles with optical sights and silencers

More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also seized, police said in a statement.

The shooting happened around 8.00 CEST in the Croatian capital and is being treated by police as an "attempted aggravated murder", according to a statement.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said an investigation is underway to determine whether the shooting was a one-off.

“We do not know enough at the moment” to discern this, Plenkovic told reporters.

Police have sealed off the area around the square from public access and planned activities by the government or other state institutions in the area were cancelled on Monday.

The County State's Attorney is leading an investigation into the incident, alongside investigators from Zagreb police and an expert from the Ivan Vučetić Centre for Forensic Investigation, Research and Expertise.