A man who attacked shoppers at a Poland shopping centre with a knife, killing one and wounding seven others, was not motivated by terror or politics, police said.

Police chief Krzysztof Pobuta said the 27-year-old attacker was not able to explain his motives and was in an emotional state after he stabbed people in the back this afternoon at a centre in the south-eastern Polish town of Stalowa Wola.

The 27-year-old man was eventually apprehended by other shoppers and handed to police upon their arrival.

Pobuta said there's "no terrorist or ideological context for the attack, it is rather his poor psychological condition”.

Police spokesman Mariusz Ciarka added the attacker wasn't drunk at the time of the attack but that blood tests are being done to determine if he was under the influence of drugs.

Regional governor Ewa Leniart has confirmed a 50-year-old woman died in hospital, while four of the injured have undergone surgery.