Poland in mourning after shooter with 'ultranationalistic' views killed 6, wounded 15 in Krakow
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 happened in Krakow's bustling Main Square at the heart of the city's Old Town
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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 defence minister described as an "act of terror," happened on Saturday in Main Square in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town. The area 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.
WATCH | Shooting in Krakow leaves 6 dead, more than a dozen injured:
Krakow shooting leaves 6 dead, more than a dozen injured
November 7|
Duration
0:44
Six people were killed and more than a dozen wounded after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, Poland, authorities said. The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said.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 "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.
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 the Second World War.
Attacker’s sister and parents found dead
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 U.K. and a woman from an unidentified foreign country were also among the dead.
The two police officers who stopped the attacker remain in hospital. One of them is still in a coma while the other woke up from a coma, Klęczar said. Officials launched an appeal for blood donations for the benefit of the most seriously wounded policeman.
Cordoned-off areas at Krakow's Main Market Square following Saturday's mass shooting. (Jakub Porzycki/Reuters)
"If it weren’t for the efficient and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been significantly higher," Klęczar said.
Five non-Poles are among the wounded. They come from the U.K., Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
The attacker 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 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."
Authorities also found three dead bodies at the man’s family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers northeast of Krakow. The police said on Sunday they were the bodies of the attacker’s sister, mother and father.
The family members likely died from gunshot wounds, the police said.
The mass killing marks a grim first for Poland
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the attacker 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.
People stand near candles and flowers left near the Main Market Square in tribute for victims after Saturday's mass shooting. (Jakub Porzycki/Reuters)
Klęczar said the attacker’s father owned over 10 guns legally and that the attacker also owned guns. Local officials in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski said they seized seven weapons from the family home, bringing the total number recovered to 11, including four found in the possession of the attacker in Krakow or in his car.
Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising, particularly because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fear of instability in the region.
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 attacker’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."
WATCH | CBC's Darren McCaffrey and political scientist Christian Leuprecht on shooting in Poland:
CBC’s Darren McCaffrey speaks with Christian Leuprecht regarding shooting in Poland
November 7|
Duration
5:03
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