Family members of the shooter also killed

A day after the fatal shooting in a market square in the center of Krakow, Polish police confirmed that the perpetrator is suspected of having previously shot three members of his own family.

The three dead are the parents and sister of the shooter. The three bodies were discovered on Saturday in the 24-year-old's parents' house, which is located in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. The city is located around 180 kilometers northeast of Krakow. That evening, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that it was probably the perpetrator's immediate family, but this had not yet been officially confirmed by the police.

Several foreign citizens among victims

The 24-year-old is suspected of having killed a total of nine people. On Saturday afternoon he drove a car into the busy market square in Krakow and fired randomly at passers-by. As a result of these shots, six people were killed and 15 others were injured, some critically.

According to the police, the victims also include several foreign citizens. A Briton was killed. In addition, one of the injured victims comes from Germany, as the Foreign Office confirmed. Another four injured come from Great Britain, Portugal, Austria and Russia.

Justice Minister calls for blood donations for injured police officers

The shooter was stopped by the police on the way out of Krakow city center. There was an exchange of fire in which two officers were critically injured. The 24-year-old was also shot before his arrest.

Prime Minister Tusk praised the two police officers as “true heroes”. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński also thanked the officials for their immediate, heroic actions in a post on the short message service X. The Polish Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek also appealed to the population at X to donate blood for one of the injured police officers. He has the rare blood type AB Rhesus+ and is fighting for his life.

Two days of national mourning

The shooter's possible motives are still unclear. In addition to the murder weapon - a rifle - other weapons and ammunition were found in his car. Investigators are examining evidence that the perpetrator was fascinated by extreme right-wing ideologies.

President Karol Nawrocki spoke of an "unprecedented act of terrorism" and ordered national mourning for this Sunday and Monday. Flags on public buildings across the country were flown at half-mast. In the afternoon there will be a service in St. Mary's Church on the market square where the shots were fired to commemorate the victims.