Poles mourn rare mass killing as authorities say attacker had far-right views

Poland began two days of national mourning on Sunday, after a 24-year-old man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow and opened fire, killing six people and wounding 15 others before police shot and wounded him.

The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror,” happened on Saturday in Main Square, which is in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.

By evening, mourners had left candles in memory of the victims. The square remained partially closed on Sunday morning as authorities continued their investigation.

St. Mary’s Trumpet Call, a traditional five-note melody played every hour from the highest tower of St. Mary’s Basilica on the Main Square, was paused overnight in tribute to the victims. It is the first time the call has been missed since World War II .

Authorities also found the bodies of the assailant’s sister, mother and father at the man’s family home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers northeast of Krakow. They likely died from gunshot wounds.

Witnesses hid in nearby shops to avoid bullets Marie-Ange Collaer wrote on Facebook that she and her family survived the shooting during a trip to Krakow from Brussels.

“We literally ran for our lives and managed to hide from the bullets flying around,” she wrote. “Lying on the floor in a shop like in a bad police movie whilst you hear bullets everywhere.” Collaer said her family was shaky and “quite in shock” after returning to their hotel but everyone was grateful to be alive.

“We saw a few that did not make it, true horror,” she wrote.

UK resident Neil Thaxton and his wife, Nicky, also survived the attack.

“We had just walked through the main square and heard the gunshots,” Thaxton wrote on Facebook. “We thought it was fireworks then people started running, we went into a gift shop and the staff took us in the back of the shop and locked the doors and turned the lights off.”

Police officers described as heroes The prosecutors said on Sunday they started an investigation for murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, with the act “constituting a terrorist offense.”

Four women and two men were killed in the Main Square shooting. Three of the women and one of the men were Polish, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar, the Malopolska regional governor, said on Sunday. A man from the UK and a woman from an unidentified foreign country were also among the dead.

The two police officers who stopped the gunman, in actions authorities hailed as heroic, remain in hospital. One of them is still in a coma while the other woke up from a coma, Kleczar said. Officials launched an appeal for blood donations for the benefit of the most seriously wounded officer.

“If it weren’t for the efficient and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been significantly higher,” Kleczar said.

Five non-Poles are among the wounded. They come from the UK, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.

The perpetrator is also in a critical state, having been operated on multiple times. There was confusion on Saturday about the shooter's age, with authorities first saying 24 and later 25. On Sunday they confirmed that he is 24.

The mass killing marks a grim first for Poland Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.

“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwiński said at a news conference.

Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims. In one video, a police officer is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse to the ground himself.

Kleczar said the assailant's father owned over 10 guns legally and that the attacker also owned guns. Local officials in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski said they seized seven weapons from the family home, bringing the total number recovered to 11, including four found in the possession of the man in Krakow or in his car.

The Swit shooting club in Starachowice, where he is believed to have trained, issued a statement on Sunday saying it offered only “static shooting,” which involves firing from a fixed position at a stationary target. The club added that the suspect “was never trained in our club in the areas of dynamic, tactical or combat shooting.” Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.

Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days , leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children. The young attackers used knives or other sharp objects.

The Krakow shooter’s military gear, guns and overall look were similar to those of other “extreme right lone actors” committing attacks around Europe, said Kacper Rekawek, a senior researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague.

“We have had attempts before, but now we can say that these kinds of attacks have become successful in Poland.”