Shots in Krakow: Public prosecutor's office investigates suspicion of terrorism

One day after the fatal shots at passers-by in a market square in Krakow, Poland, the public prosecutor's office is investigating whether it was a terrorist offense. The shooter killed six people and 15 other victims were injured, some critically.

The perpetrator is therefore accused of killing six people and attempting to murder numerous other people, including police officers, "and this act had a terrorist character," the public prosecutor's office said on the short message service X.

The shooter is a 24-year-old Pole. However, the motive behind the crime is still unclear. According to initial indications, the man is said to have held "very radical views," as Poland's Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced on Saturday evening. There are signs that he was fascinated by right-wing extremist ideologies, although this still needs to be further examined.

Several foreign citizens among victims

The 24-year-old drove a car into the busy market square in Krakow on Saturday afternoon and shot people indiscriminately. 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.

On the way out of the city center, the shooter was stopped by the police. 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 Donald Tusk praised the two police officers as “true heroes”. Interior Minister Kierwiński also thanked the officers in a post on the short message service X. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also appealed to the population on 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.

Closest family members of shooter found dead

Yesterday three bodies were discovered in the shooter's parents' house in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. The city is located around 180 kilometers northeast of Krakow.

The police have now confirmed that the three dead are the man's parents and sister. He is suspected of having shot a total of nine people. The evidence suggests that the crimes were committed by the same person, the prosecutor said.

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.

Before the service, the Archbishop of Kraków, Grzegorz Rys, called on the population to unite. "We don't want to, we can't, we aren't capable of being indifferent at such a moment," he warned. "Violence, aggression and hatred have affected us in a way that transcends all boundaries," the archbishop added, emphasizing that anyone could have been in the marketplace at the time of the crime and thus become a victim.