Six people were killed and another 16 injured in a shooting in central Krakow on November 7. Police detained a 25-year-old Polish citizen as the suspect. Later, the bodies of three more people, believed to be family members, were found at his home. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said investigators are examining a possible link between the attack and the suspect's far-right views.
"Everything points to the fact that the shooter was influenced by far-right ideology; this aspect will be investigated," he said.
The shooting began at around 3:00 p.m. local time in the Main Market Square, a popular spot among tourists. According to BBC, the man opened fire on passersby from a passenger car. Witnesses described him as a masked man who fired continuously.
Local police spokesperson Katarzyna Cieslo said the suspect was wearing clothing resembling a military uniform. A large amount of weapons and ammunition was found in his car. Another police spokesperson, Andrzej Fielek, told TVN24 that the man used an AR-15 rifle and had a permit to own firearms.
Among those killed in the square were four women and two men. Police established that one of them was a British citizen and three others were Polish citizens. The citizenship of the other two victims had not been established at the time of BBC's publication.
According to the Interior Ministry, among the injured are citizens of Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom. The Russian embassy confirmed that a Russian female citizen was injured.
Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry, in response to a request from Kursiv, said there were no Kazakh citizens among the dead or injured.
During the attack, staff at shops and restaurants on the square barricaded themselves inside together with customers. The city transport company also reported that a tram was fired upon near All Saints' Square.
BBC verified several video recordings from the scene. In some footage, gunfire can be heard and passersby are seen running; in others, people are helping victims lying on the pavement. Some clips show a police car chasing a black vehicle. Judging by the videos, the shooting ended near a major intersection about a kilometer from the square.
During the detention, police officers used their weapons, and the suspect returned fire. Two officers were injured. According to Kierwinski, one of them is in extremely critical condition after three gunshot wounds.
The interior minister said police officers opened fire on the attacker three minutes after receiving a report of the incident. In his assessment, the officers' actions prevented a larger tragedy.
The suspect was hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Onet reported that he is in serious condition and undergoing surgery. According to police, there are no other suspects in the attack.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the bodies of two women and a man were found at the detainee's home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, about 200 kilometers north of Krakow.
"There are strong grounds to believe that the deceased are his close relatives," Tusk said at an emergency meeting.
A drone was used to inspect the house for security reasons. According to the prime minister, a significant amount of weapons could have been inside. Local media reported the evacuation of residents and the work of an anti-terrorist unit.
Tusk expressed condolences to the families of the victims, thanked police officers and urged politicians not to speculate on the tragedy.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he was deeply concerned by the events. His representative announced national mourning on November 8-9.
Condolences were also expressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas. Zelensky stressed that there is no justification for the attack, while Kallas called it a tragedy whose consequences will be felt far beyond Poland.