A 24-year-old gunman killed six people in Krakow’s Main Square and his family was found dead at home as the country began national mourning.
Poland entered two days of national mourning on Sunday after a 24-year-old gunman opened fire in Krakow’s central Main Square on Saturday, killing six people and injuring 15 others before police officers shot and stopped him.
The attack occurred in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town, a major tourist destination in Poland’s second-largest city. Poland’s defense minister called the shooting an act of terror, and prosecutors launched a formal investigation into murder, attempted murder and terrorism offenses, PBS NewsHour reported.
The attack and the casualties
The gunman drove into the bustling square on Saturday before firing on pedestrians. Malopolska regional governor Krzysztof Jan Klęczar stated that four women and two men died in the square. Klęczar noted that three of the women and one of the men were Polish citizens.
The outlets gave slightly different accounts of the remaining fatalities. PBS NewsHour reported that the two foreign victims who died were a man from the United Kingdom and a woman from Austria. According to CBS News, the deceased foreigners were a British man and a woman from an unidentified country.
Five foreign nationals were among the 15 people injured, with origins in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria. The two police officers who confronted the gunman were seriously injured and taken to a hospital. Two surgeons who happened to be dining nearby rushed to help, packing chest wounds to stabilize an officer who had collapsed after shooting the suspect.
Sources also differed on the condition of the two officers on Sunday afternoon. PBS NewsHour stated that both officers were conscious by then. CBS News reported that Klęczar said one officer had emerged from a coma while the other officer remained in a coma, prompting authorities to request public blood donations. Klęczar praised both officers, stating, “If it weren’t for the efficient and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been significantly higher.”
Family found dead and weapons cache
Hours after the attack in Krakow, investigators searched the suspect’s family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, located about 93 miles northeast of the city. Inside, police discovered the bodies of the shooter’s mother, father and 21-year-old sister, who appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
The sister was identified by the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts as Magdalena Oksińska, a third-year student, poet and painter. The school also reported that a relative of one of its employees suffered two gunshot wounds in the Krakow attack.
Local officials found seven firearms inside the family residence, adding to four guns recovered from the shooter or his vehicle in Krakow. Both the suspect and his father held legal firearm permits, and Klęczar noted that the father owned more than 10 guns. Poland has around 411,000 licensed gun owners in a population of roughly 37 million, with permitting numbers growing in recent years. The Swit shooting club in Starachowice confirmed the suspect had practiced there, but stated its facility only provides static target practice and never provided combat or dynamic tactical training.
Motive and the investigation ahead
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the gunman held radical, ultranationalist beliefs. At a news briefing, Kierwiński said, “Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies.”
Krakow’s Main Square reopened Sunday evening as crowds arrived to leave flowers and candles. The traditional hourly bugle call from the tower of St. Mary’s Basilica had been paused overnight in tribute, marking the first time the melody was halted since World War II. In Brussels, flags flew at half-staff outside the European Commission.
The suspect underwent several surgeries and remained in critical condition under armed guard on Sunday. Prosecutors are continuing their terrorism inquiry as they review the suspect’s background, social circles and how the attacks across both cities were coordinated.
