Gunman who killed 6 in Polish city square dies in hospital

The 24-year-old with far-right views who killed six people and wounded 15 others in a shooting in a Polish city square Saturday died in hospital Monday, police said.

The attacker, wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest, drove into the Main Square in Krakow’s Old Town and opened fire. The location is a major tourist destination in Poland’s second-largest city, and several foreigners were among the dead and wounded.

Police said the man continued firing even after he was wounded by police officers. He had been in critical condition in hospital since the attack.

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 150km (93 miles) northeast of Krakow. They likely died from gunshot wounds.

On Sunday night, mourners laid candles and flowers alongside bullet holes in Krakow after the city’s central square turned into a site of bloodshed and grief.

“I come here so as not to get caught up in a spiral of fear and anxiety,” resident Maciej Sikorski told Associated Press from the square. “In a situation like this, it’s all too easy to stop living – to start being afraid instead, and just vegetate. That is something I really want to avoid.”

Prosecutors said Sunday they opened an investigation into the murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, with the act “constituting a terrorist offence”.

Four women and two men were killed in the shooting. Three of the women and one of the men were Polish, authorities said. A man from the UK and a woman from Austria were also among the dead.

The two police officers who stopped the gunman, in actions authorities hailed as heroic, remain in hospital. They were both conscious by Sunday afternoon.

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