Poland's National Prosecutor's Office announced Sunday that it has opened a terrorism investigation into the mass shooting in Krakow, where six people were killed and 15 others wounded before police shot and injured the gunman.
Prosecutors said the probe covers the murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, and that the Saturday attack constituted a terrorist offense. The suspect, a 24-year-old Polish national, drove into the city center and opened fire in Main Square, the heart of Krakow's historic Old Town and a major tourist destination in the country's second-largest city.
The dead included four women and two men. Three of the women and one of the men were Polish, while a British man and a woman from an unidentified foreign country were also killed. Five foreign nationals, from the UK, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria, were among the wounded.
Poland began two days of national mourning on Sunday, with the government saying the attack was likely inspired by far-right ideology. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the shooting an act of terrorism, and the defense minister described it as an act of terror. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect held very radical and ultranationalistic views, adding: "Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies."
The usually bustling square remained sealed off with red-and-white tape as mourners laid candles for the victims. Police checked the bags of cafe and restaurant workers, most souvenir shops stayed closed, and black flags and Polish flags bearing black ribbons appeared across the city. The traditional hourly trumpet call from St. Mary's church was suspended for 12 hours in memory of the dead, the first such pause since 1939, according to the state news agency PAP.
Residents and visitors described scenes of terror. "I'm absolutely devastated," said Krakow resident Weronika Filar, 27. "Our city will never be the same." Marie-Ange Collaer, visiting from Brussels with her family, wrote on Facebook that they survived by hiding in a nearby shop, while UK resident Neil Thaxton said he and his wife initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks before shop staff sheltered them in a back room.
Authorities said the attacker was masked and wore military-style clothing, including a bulletproof vest. After leaving his car at an intersection, he began firing at police officers with a semi-automatic rifle. Social media footage showed two officers engaging the gunman, with one managing to wound him despite being injured himself. Both officers remained hospitalized Sunday, one still in a coma. Regional governor Krzysztof Jan Kleczar said that without their efficient and selfless intervention, the death toll could have been far higher. Tusk identified the men as Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Moranski, calling them "true heroes" who likely saved many lives. Police issued an urgent appeal for blood for one officer who was fighting for his life.
The suspect, identified in Polish media as Michal O., was in critical condition after undergoing multiple operations. He had no prior criminal record and belonged to a shooting club along with his father. The Swit shooting club in Starachowice, where he is believed to have trained, said it offered only static shooting at fixed targets and that he was never trained there in dynamic, tactical or combat shooting.
Investigators later discovered the bodies of the suspect's parents and sister at the family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, northeast of Krakow. The victims were a 53-year-old man and two women aged 52 and 21, all with gunshot wounds. Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Daniel Prokopowicz said it was highly likely the same person carried out both sets of killings. Seven firearms and a significant quantity of ammunition were recovered from the property, bringing the total number of seized weapons to 11, matching permit records for the suspect and his father, who legally owned more than 10 guns.
