Kraków: six dead in shooting, terrorist investigation opened
A shooting on the Market Square killed six people and wounded seventeen. The suspect, aged 24, is in critical condition; his parents and sister were found dead at his home.
Shooting in city centre and terrorist investigation
According to Actu17, the Polish prosecutor's office opened a terrorist investigation on Sunday into shots that killed six people and wounded around fifteen on Kraków's Market Square. The investigation also covers the deaths of three people found at the shooter's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski: his parents and sister.
The suspect, a Polish national aged 24, was wounded by police during his arrest. He is in critical condition at Kraków hospital and has not yet been able to be questioned. The national prosecutor's office has entrusted the investigation to its Kraków branch, which handles organised crime and corruption.
The incident and intervention
The shooting occurred on Saturday around 15:00. The shooter arrived by car at the Market Square, in the heart of the historic centre, and opened fire at random with an AR-15 assault rifle. Six people — four women and two men — were killed on the spot. He then fled through the old town streets, shooting at a tram and at police officers, before being arrested at the corner of Stradomska and Dietla streets following an exchange of gunfire.
Two police officers were wounded during the arrest. One of them, hit by three bullets, is in serious but stable condition; the second is stable. In total, sixteen people were hospitalised, including eleven Poles and five foreigners. Among the wounded were five calèche drivers from the Market Square. A British national is among the deceased victims.
Victims at the shooter's home
The three people found Saturday evening in the shooter's flat in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski are his father, 53, his mother, 52, and his sister, 21. Gunshot wounds were found on the bodies, which have been seized for further examination. According to Wirtualna Polska, the sister studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts.
Suspect's profile and investigation
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stated that "everything suggests he held very, very radical opinions" and "that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies". The suspect held authorisation for the possession of a sporting firearm. One of the investigators' hypotheses is that he took the weapons from the family home, his father owning several registered firearms.
An arsenal of weapons and ammunition was discovered in his car. The ABW, the Polish internal intelligence service, and police are seeking to establish who he was in contact with and what route he took to Kraków. The minister indicated that the man acted alone.
Legal proceedings and charges
The shooter has not yet been formally placed in detention, but remains under constant surveillance by law enforcement. The investigation concerns the murder by firearm of six people, attempted murder of numerous others, including police officers, and the murder of the three family members.
According to the spokesperson for the Kraków regional prosecutor's office, Tomasz Waszczuk, "everything suggests" the acts are liable to life imprisonment. As soon as his state of health permits, the prosecutor's office will notify the suspect of the charges, question him, and rule on a remand measure.
Government reaction
Prime Minister Donald Tusk referred to an "attack" and travelled to Kraków in the evening to attend a crisis meeting. The voivode of Lesser Poland, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar, confirmed that the shooter, who underwent several operations during the night, remains in critical condition.
Source: Actu17