Shooting in Kraków: Six dead, terrorism investigation and three found dead in parents' home
A 24-year-old Pole shot six random victims at Kraków's main square on Saturday. The public prosecutor's office is investigating on terrorism charges.
Terrorism investigation after bloodshed on Kraków's main square
Following the fatal shooting attack on the Rynek Główny in Kraków, the Polish public prosecutor's office is investigating the incident as a terrorist offence, according to zdfheute.de. Six people were killed in the attack, and at least 15 others were injured. Police also discovered three additional bodies at the home of the suspected perpetrator's parents.
Indiscriminate fire on pedestrians
At around 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, a man drove a car onto the main market square of Poland's second-largest city and opened fire on pedestrians. "Suddenly a car drove up and a man started shooting from the car window," an eyewitness described the events. According to a police spokesperson, the attacker fired "indiscriminately at pedestrians". Eyewitnesses reported "great chaos" on the square; people ran in all directions. The attacker was wearing a helmet or mask – his face was not visible.
Six dead, including an Austrian national
Four women and two men were killed in the attack. The victims were aged between 32 and 61. Four of those killed were from Poland, one from the United Kingdom. Austria's Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger confirmed on X that an Austrian citizen had also been killed in the attack. At least 15 other people were injured, including two police officers who were hit in a firefight with the attacker. According to police, the injured also include people from Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Russia. The German Foreign Office confirmed that a person with German nationality was injured. Twelve injured persons were in critical or life-threatening condition, according to the Małopolskie Voivodeship. Several cab drivers were seriously injured; two of them are fighting for their lives, according to the Kraków Cab Drivers Association.
Escape, firefight, arrest
After the attack, the perpetrator attempted to flee. The news agency PAP reported, citing a photo journalist, that he collided with another vehicle at an intersection, jumped out of his car and fired at police officers. Police officers returned fire and severely wounded the man. He was overpowered and taken to hospital, where he underwent multiple operations. Police believe this was the work of a lone perpetrator and denied reports of a search for a possible second suspect.
Polish citizen, 24 years old, from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
According to police, the suspected perpetrator is a 24-year-old Polish citizen from the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in the south-east of the country. He lived in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city with around 60,000 inhabitants, approximately 180 kilometres north-east of Kraków. A police spokesperson told broadcaster TVN24 that the man had worn "military-style clothing" and used a "long-barrelled firearm of military construction, possibly a semi-automatic assault rifle of the AR-15 type". Further weapons and ammunition were seized from the attacker's car. According to Polish media reports, he was a member of a shooting club.
Three dead at parents' home, eleven weapons seized in total
On Saturday evening, police found three further bodies at the attacker's residence: his mother, his father and his sister – all three shot dead. Krzysztof Kleczar, the head of the Małopolskie Voivodeship, explained that the shooter's father had legally owned more than ten firearms. Authorities in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski stated that seven weapons had been seized at the family home. Together with the four weapons found in Kraków or in the man's vehicle, the total number of weapons seized came to eleven.
Right-wing extremist views as possible motive
Little was initially known about the background to the attack. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski stated that the shooter had been "fascinated by right-wing extremist ideologies". Kacper Rekawek, leading researcher at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, stated that the attacker's appearance resembled that of other right-wing extremist lone actors in Europe.
State mourning and political context
Poland declared two days of state mourning. Candles and flowers were placed in front of the cordoned-off area at the market square. ZDF correspondent Natalie Steger pointed out that Poland celebrates its national holiday on 11 November shortly after the attack – and that it would then become clear whether the incident is politically exploited. Kraków, with more than 800,000 inhabitants, is Poland's second-largest city.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)