A gunman authorities say held far-right views killed six people in Krakow's main square on Saturday, and three more bodies were found at his home.
The attack began around 3 p.m. when the 24-year-old Polish citizen drove a black car into Krakow's Main Market Square. He opened fire from the driver's window with an AR-15 rifle. Four women and two men were killed, including one British citizen, while 16 others were injured, among them two police officers. One officer was hit three times and remained in very serious condition, while 12 of the injured were in life-threatening condition.
The suspect, identified as Michał Oksiński from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, wore military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest and held a legal firearms license for sport shooting. His father held a license for eleven weapons. Police shot and detained him after an exchange of fire several kilometers from the square, and he was taken to a hospital for surgery. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the attacker held "very radical views" and was "fascinated by far-right ideologies."
Later on Saturday, police found the bodies of two women and one man at the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, nearly 200 kilometers north of Krakow. Residents had been evacuated from the building. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said there were strong indications they were members of his immediate family. A drone had been used to inspect the house due to potential security threats and a significant amount of weaponry inside.
Tusk declared the shooting an act of terrorism, saying Poland had never experienced anything quite like it. He urged politicians not to exploit the tragedy for political purposes. President Karol Nawrocki announced two days of national mourning for November 8 and 9. Krakow Mayor Łukasz Gibała declared city mourning until Wednesday and vowed the square "will belong to us again."
Among the injured were five foreign nationals from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Britain. At least one other British national was among the wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered condolences and voiced hope for a fair trial. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK government deeply mourned the British national and other victims.
The shooting came as a poll published on November 7 showed Poland's far-right Konfederacja party at 15.4 percent, nearly tied with PiS at 15.8 percent and trailing the ruling coalition's 28.1 percent.
