Poland mourns Krakow shooting victims as terrorism probe launched

Poland began two days of national mourning on Sunday, a day after a 24-year-old man with far-right views opened fire on a busy central square in Krakowkilling six people and injuring 15 others.

The attack, which Poland’s defense minister called a “terrorist act,” took place on the Main Square, a major tourist hub in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town.

The suspected shooter, a Pole, was shot and injured by police.

The prosecution announced on Sunday the opening of an investigation into the murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, this act “constituting a terrorist offense”.

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

The bodies of three people – the attacker’s sister, mother and father – were found at the man’s home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a town about 150 km northeast of Krakow. They likely died from gunshot wounds, authorities said.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect had “very radical” and “ultranationalist” views.

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

The two police officers who arrested the shooter, in actions described as heroic by authorities, are still hospitalized. One of them is still in a coma while the other woke up from the coma, Klęczar said. The authorities launched an appeal for blood donations for the benefit of the most seriously injured officer.

“Without the effective and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been much higher,” Klęczar said.

He said the attacker’s father legally owned more than 10 guns and the attacker also owned weapons. Local authorities in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski said they seized seven weapons from the family home, bringing the total number recovered to 11, including four found in the man’s possession in Krakow or in his car.

The suspect is also in critical condition after undergoing several surgeries.

Mourning the victims and Poland

The square remained partially closed Sunday morning as authorities continued their investigation.

The call of the St. Mary’s trumpet, a traditional five-note melody played hourly from the tallest tower of St. Mary’s Basilica in the main square, was interrupted throughout the night in tribute to the victims. This is the first time this call has been missed since World War II.

“I am absolutely devastated,” Weronika Filar, 27, a resident of Krakow, told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

“It really is one of the safest places on Earth…I didn’t expect something like this to happen to us,” she said. “Our city will never be the same.”

“We have heard of various incidents of this type elsewhere in Europe,” Krzysztof Stepien, a 28-year-old part-time municipal guide, told AFP.

“Nothing like this has ever happened here, and I hope it doesn’t happen again,” Stepien said.

American tourist Marylin Green mourned the losses of the “beautiful city” during her first trip to Poland which also included the capital.

“I’m Polish, my parents were from here,” she said. “I loved Warsaw, so I was really looking forward to coming here too.”

European flags were at half-mast on Sunday in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels.

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

The Krakow shooter’s military equipment, weapons and general appearance were similar to other “far-right lone actors” who have carried out attacks across Europe, said Kacper Rekawek, a senior researcher at the International Counter-Terrorism Center in The Hague.

“We have already had attempts, but now we can say that this type of attacks were successful in Poland,” Rekawek said.