Poland’s public prosecutor’s office is investigating the fatal shots in Kraków’s main market square as a terrorist offence. The news agency PAP reported this on Sunday, citing the authority, as Swiss broadcaster SRF reports. The case concerns the killing of six people and the attempted murder of numerous others, including police officers. The death toll therefore stands at six; more than a dozen people were injured, twelve of whom are in a critical or life-threatening condition, according to the head of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Krzysztof Klęczar.
The three bodies that emergency services discovered on Saturday evening in the house of the suspected gunman in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski are, according to Polish broadcaster RMF FM, the parents and the sister of the 24-year-old. (Some media report that the man is 25 years old.) The broadcaster cites the spokesman for the Polish national police headquarters in Warsaw, Andrzej Fijolek. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously said they were probably the closest family members of the gunman. The bodies had been discovered during a police operation on Saturday evening after a drone had taken footage – the authorities suspected explosives in the house.
“Very radical views” – investigators examine far-right motive
According to initial findings, the perpetrator held “very radical views”, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said. There are indications that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies, even if this still needs to be examined more closely. The “Welt” writes that investigators are examining a far-right motive. The prosecutor’s office initially did not comment on whether it assumes a terrorist background in the sense of an organised group. The police assume a lone perpetrator and denied reports of a search for a possible accomplice.
At around 15:00 on Saturday, the man fired indiscriminately at passers-by from a moving car on the Main Square, the city’s main market square. According to police, he used a semi-automatic long gun similar to an American AR-15 type assault rifle. As he fled, his car collided with another car at an intersection; the attacker jumped out and shot at the emergency services. They returned fire and hit him; he was overpowered and taken to a Kraków hospital with life-threatening injuries and operated on several times. Two police officers were injured, one suffered three gunshot wounds. Interior Minister Kierwiński said the police’s “lightning-fast reaction” had prevented an even greater massacre. The officers fired at the attacker within three minutes of the first alert.
According to police chief Marek Boroń, the six dead include a British national and three Poles; two people still had to be identified initially. Four women and two men were killed. According to the interior minister, the 16 injured include five foreigners, among them a person from Germany, as well as people from Austria, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom. The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin confirmed on request that a person with German citizenship was injured. The German Consulate General in Kraków is in contact with the responsible authorities.
National mourning and debate over the motive
President Karol Nawrocki announced nationwide national mourning for Sunday and Monday. Prime Minister Tusk spoke of an act of “terrorism” and a “horrific attack on people’s lives here in Kraków”. On X, he issued an “urgent appeal to politicians of all camps” not to make this tragedy “an instrument of political games”. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X that he was “deeply shocked” and assured that Germany stood “as a friend and partner at Poland’s side in these difficult times”. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul wrote that Germany stood “in solidarity with Poland”. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas spoke of a “tragedy”; the effects would “be felt far beyond Poland’s borders”.
According to Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, forensic work at the crime scene was to continue at least until Sunday. Witnesses were asked to report to the nearest police station. The Defence Ministry denied speculation that the suspect was a soldier or former soldier. Kraków, with more than 800,000 inhabitants Poland’s second-largest city and part of the Unesco World Heritage, is a popular destination for tourists from all over the world. The attack will shape one of Europe’s safest countries for a long time – this assessment by the editorial team is based on the reactions of government and EU representatives, who speak of a turning point.
Earlier coverage: Shooting on Kraków’s Main Market Square: five dead
