Poland | Terrorism investigation after fatal shooting in Krakow

Candles and flowers were laid near the market square in Krakow, where six people were shot and more than a dozen people were injured. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/AP/dpa Krakow. After the gun attack in Krakow, Poland, which was allegedly motivated by right-wing extremism and left six people dead, the public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into "terrorism" on Sunday. Poland observed two days of national mourning after an armed attacker shot six people and injured 15 others in Krakow's Old Town on Saturday. Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke of a “horrible assassination attempt.”

According to investigators, on Saturday afternoon in the city in southern Poland, which is popular with tourists, the attacker drove a car "into the main market square" and then shot "indiscriminately at passers-by." The 24-year-old, whose name according to the media is Michal O., was critically injured in the subsequent police operation and, according to authorities, continued to be treated in hospital on Sunday. On Monday morning, the police headquarters of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship near X announced that he had succumbed to his injuries in hospital. 

As he fled, he left his car at an intersection and then shot at the emergency services. Two police officers were injured, one of them seriously. Both officers woke up from their comas on Sunday. Hundreds of Poles lined up to donate blood after police called for them to do so. 

The perpetrator committed a "horrible attack on the lives of people here in Krakow," said Prime Minister Tusk. He also reported that the bodies of two women, aged 21 and 52, and a 53-year-old man were found in the suspected shooter's house in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, about 150 kilometers northeast of Krakow.

Police identified the dead as the shooter's parents and a sister. The bodies therefore had gunshot wounds. Seven weapons were also found in the house. 

According to the police, the dead in the market square were four women and two men, including police officers. According to the Polish authorities, two foreigners were also among the fatalities, a Briton and an Austrian woman.

Among the 15 injured are five non-Poles who, according to reports from the PAP news agency, come from Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Portugal and Russia. The Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed "that a person with German nationality was also injured in the attack." 

The attacker's motive was initially unclear. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the shooter, who wore military camouflage clothing and a bulletproof vest, was "fascinated by right-wing extremist ideologies." According to Polish media reports, he was a member of a shooting club. 

Black flags and the Polish national flag with mourning ribbons could be seen in Krakow on Sunday. Mourners lit candles and laid flowers near the site of the attack. A funeral service was held in the afternoon. During his trip to South America, Pope Leo XIV said in a letter to the Archbishop of Krakow that he felt connected to those killed and their families. 

Numerous heads of state and government expressed their condolences. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was “deeply affected” by X. He added: "Germany stands by Poland's side as a friend and partner in these difficult times." Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) also wrote there that Germany stands "in solidarity with Poland."

Gun attacks are rare in Poland. The country was on heightened alert after a series of knife attacks in October that Tusk condemned at the time as part of a "cult of violence."

EU and NATO member Poland shares a border with Ukraine, which has been resisting Russian attacks on its country for several years. It is perhaps against this background that the number of weapons in the country is continually increasing. According to the police, more than 50,000 new gun licenses were issued last year.  AFP/nd

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