On a Saturday afternoon in November, in the old town square of Kraków, Poland's second-largest city and a place where tens of thousands of strangers pass through each year, a man drove in and began firing at whoever was in front of him. Six people were killed, among them a British man and an Austrian woman, and seventeen more were wounded, while the shooter's own parents and sister were found dead at the family home far to the north-east. Authorities now describe a young man steeped in ultra-nationalist ideas, and a country that long believed itself a quiet refuge is confronting, with grief an
Polish prosecutors open terrorism probe after six killed in Kraków market square shooting
Six people were killed, including a British man and an Austrian woman, 17 were injured, and the gunman's parents and sister were found dead at their home.
A brutal end to an era in which Poland was considered an island of safety
Mark
Why is this being treated as terrorism so quickly?
Mimi
Prosecutors framed it that way from the start. Their statement called the killings a terrorist offence, and the interior minister described the suspect as holding very radical, ultra-nationalistic views.
Luke
Worth separating the two things there. The prosecutors' classification is formal. The far-right inspiration is described by officials as probable, so it's an assessment, not a finding.
Mark
And the suspect's family?
Mimi
His father, mother and sister were found dead at the family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Police say they probably died of gunshot wounds.
Luke
Probably. We don't yet know who shot them or when, and the reporting doesn't say.
Mark
Why does this resonate so much in Poland?
Mimi
It's a rare mass shooting in a country seen as safe, and it follows the October school stabbings that officials tied to extremist content online. Rzeczpospolita spoke of the end of an era.
Luke
That's an editorial reading, and the stabbings are linked by officials to online content, not necessarily to this case. Nothing here says the suspect was connected to them.
Mark
Who were the victims?
Mimi
Four women and two men: three Polish women, a 51-year-old Austrian woman and a 32-year-old British man. Seventeen were wounded, five of them foreign nationals.
Luke
The sixth victim's identity isn't given, and the suspect's own account isn't known yet either.
Der Puls
- A car tore into the crowded old-town square at around three in the afternoon and the driver fired at random as he circled, turning a tourist evening into chaos.
- Six lives were lost and seventeen people were wounded, with police officers among the injured and one still in serious condition.
- Prosecutors have moved fast, opening a terrorism investigation while the suspect lies under heavy guard after surgery and his family's deaths remain under examination.
- Kraków's square sits cordoned and lit with candles, and security is being tightened in Warsaw and beyond as two days of national mourning settle over the country.
- Coming weeks after school stabbings linked to online extremism, the shooting is shaking Poland's self-image as a safe country and forcing a hard question about public space.
On a Saturday afternoon in November, in the old town square of Kraków, Poland's second-largest city and a place where tens of thousands of strangers pass through each year, a man drove in and began firing at whoever was in front of him. Six people were killed, among them a British man and an Austrian woman, and seventeen more were wounded, while the shooter's own parents and sister were found dead at the family home far to the north-east. Authorities now describe a young man steeped in ultra-nationalist ideas, and a country that long believed itself a quiet refuge is confronting, with grief and some unease, the possibility that the old distance between its streets and the violence of its neighbours' histories has narrowed.
On Saturday afternoon a car sped into the main square of Kraków's old town, a place usually thick with tourists. The driver, a 24-year-old Polish man named in local media as Michal O, wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest, and he began firing at random as he circled the square. By the time he was stopped, six people were dead and seventeen were injured, including two police officers, one of them in serious condition.
The dead included four women and two men. Among them were a 32-year-old British man, a 51-year-old Austrian woman and three Polish women. Five of the wounded are foreign nationals, from Britain, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Russia. The suspect was wounded in an exchange of fire with police, taken to hospital, and remains under heavy guard.
On Sunday, police confirmed that three people found dead at his home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski were his father, his mother and his sister. They had probably died of gunshot wounds. Authorities say the suspect was fascinated with far-right ideology and held radical, ultra-nationalist views, and the national prosecutor has opened a terrorism investigation.
Poland has declared two days of national mourning. Flags were lowered across the country and at the European Commission in Brussels, and mourners left candles in the square. Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the attack an act of terror against the people of Kraków, a city that receives fifteen million visitors a year.
The shooting arrives weeks after school stabbings in October linked to extremist content online, and the daily Rzeczpospolita described it as a brutal end to an era in which Poland was considered an island of safety. Ordinary people are feeling it too. Foreign leaders, from London to Kyiv, have offered condolences. What comes next is the shape of the investigation and whether Poland changes how it protects its public spaces.
At about 3pm on Saturday, a car sped into the main square of Kraków's old town, a place that is normally crowded with tourists. The driver, a 24-year-old Polish man named in local media as Michal O, was wearing military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest. He began firing at random as he circled the square in what Kraków police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło called a "wild ride."
Six people died: four women and two men. Polish police said one was a British citizen, and regional official Krzysztof Klęczar said on Sunday that the Briton was a 32-year-old man. Three of the dead were Polish women, and Klęczar said a 51-year-old Austrian woman was also among those killed. Seventeen people were injured. Five of the wounded are foreign nationals, from Britain, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Russia. Two police officers were hurt, and one remains in serious condition.
The suspect was wounded in an exchange of fire with police, apprehended and taken to hospital. He has undergone surgery and is under heavy police guard.
On Sunday, police confirmed that three people found dead at the gunman's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a town about 100 miles north-east of Kraków, were his father, 53, his mother, 52, and his sister, 21. Police said they had probably died of gunshot wounds.
The national prosecutor's office announced on social media that it had opened an investigation into the killing of six people with a firearm and the attempted murder of many others, including police officers, an act it said constituted a terrorist offence. Interior minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held "very radical" and "ultra-nationalistic" views. Authorities have said the attack was probably inspired by far-right ideology.
Two days of national mourning have begun. Flags across Poland were lowered to half mast, as were European flags outside the European Commission in Brussels, in solidarity with the Polish people, the commission said. In Kraków, mourners left candles in the square, which was still partly cordoned off on Sunday. Authorities had closed the square, adjoining streets and sections along the suspect's escape route for several hours, and police in Warsaw said they had bolstered security in the capital. Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the shooting an "act of terror" against the people of Kraków, Poland's second-largest city, which receives 15 million visitors a year, most of whom pass through the main square.
The attack has landed hard in a country long regarded as safer than many European neighbours. It follows several school stabbings in October that left one woman dead and which officials linked to extremist content online. The daily Rzeczpospolita wrote that the shooting brought a "brutal end to an era in which Poland was considered an island of safety." Maria, a 20-year-old cafe worker in Warsaw, told Reuters she almost burst into tears on hearing the news, saying recent events were affecting people's sense of security.
Foreign leaders responded quickly. UK prime minister Andy Burnham said he was shocked and saddened and that his thoughts were with the families of the dead and injured. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a shocking crime, Emmanuel Macron spoke of shock and disbelief, and Friedrich Merz said Germany stood with Poland as a friend and partner. Giorgia Meloni offered condolences following what she called a vile and unacceptable act of violence.
What to watch now is the terrorism investigation, including what prosecutors establish about the suspect's motives and the deaths of his family, and whether Poland changes its security posture in public spaces.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The suspect was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held very radical and ultra-nationalistic views.— Marcin Kierwiński, Polish interior minister
The shooting was an act of terror against the people of Kraków.— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish defence minister
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