Poland mourns victims of mass shooting as gunman’s far-right links examined

Poland has begun two days of national mourning after six people were killed and 15 others were wounded when a gunman opened fire in a busy central square in Krakow.

The attack, which Poland’s defence minister described as an “act of terror”, happened on Saturday in Main Square, which is in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and 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.

Authorities also found three dead bodies at the 24-year-old suspected gunman’s family home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 93 miles north-east of Krakow. Police said on Sunday they were the bodies of his sister, mother and father, and they are believed to have been shot.

Four women and two men were killed in the Main Square shooting. Local officials said three of the women and one of the men were Polish, while the second man was British. The fourth woman was not Polish but it is not yet known where she was from.

A police officer stands near the market square in Krakow, Poland PA Media

The attacker was shot and injured by police, with the two officers who stopped him, in actions authorities hailed as heroic, remaining in hospital. One is in a critical condition, prompting officials to launch an appeal for blood donations.

Krzysztof Jan Kleczar, the Malopolska regional governor, said on Sunday: “If it weren’t for the efficient and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been significantly higher.”

The attacker is also in a critical condition, having been operated on multiple times.

Mr Kleczar said the attacker’s father owned more than 10 guns legally and the gunman also owned weapons.

Local officials in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski 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.

Polish prosecutors said they have opened an investigation for murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, with the act “constituting a terrorist offence”.

Among the wounded are five people from outside Poland, with officials saying they are from the UK, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.

Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby as the attack unfolded, 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.

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.

“We saw a few that did not make it, true horror,” she wrote.

On the attacker, Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwinski said he holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.

“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Mr Kierwinski said.