Nine people are dead after a gunman opened fire in the heart of Krakow on Saturday, November 7, in an attack Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called an act of terrorism.
The shooting began at about 3 in the afternoon in Main Market Square, the historic center of Krakow and one of the most visited places in Poland. Police say a 24 year old Polish citizen drove into the square and began firing at pedestrians from his car with an automatic weapon. Six people were killed in the square and at least 15 more w
ere wounded before police stopped the gunman a few streets away after a shootout that lasted about 20 minutes.
ere wounded before police stopped the gunman a few streets away after a shootout that lasted about 20 minutes.Two officers were wounded by gunfire in the response, one of them seriously. Tusk named the officers as Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Moranski and called them heroes who saved many lives.
Hours later the toll rose again. Police searching the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a town about 140 kilometers northeast of Krakow, found the bodies of three more people inside the family apartment. The three are believed to be the suspect's parents and his sister. That brought the total number of dead to nine.
Police identified the suspect as Michal O., a 24 year old from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski with no criminal record. He was injured during his arrest and taken to a hospital, where he remains in serious condition after surgery. Officials have not released a full account of how he obtained his weapons, and the investigation is still in its early stages.
Tusk traveled to Krakow on Saturday evening and spoke to reporters at a press conference. He said the country had not seen such a serious terrorist incident before and urged solidarity with the victims while investigators establish the motive and the full circumstances. He also warned against speculation while the facts are still being gathered.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski told a security briefing that preliminary findings point to a far right motivation. He said everything indicates the gunman was fascinated by far right ideologies and held very radical and ultra nationalist views. On Sunday morning prosecutors announced an investigation into an act of a terrorist nature. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime has joined the investigation to examine reports in the media and on social media about possible links to radical groups.
Among the six people killed in the square were a British citizen and two Polish women. Five foreign nationals were also among the wounded, including a Russian woman. A primary school employee was among those killed, and the attack has shaken a city that is known around the world for its history and its crowds of visitors.
President Karol Nawrocki declared two days of national mourning for Sunday, November 8, and Monday, November 9, with flags across the country at half staff. Krakow Mayor Lukasz Gibala said the city will be in official mourning until Wednesday. Poland Independence Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, when the annual independence march takes place in Warsaw.
This is a developing story, and The Talk Lounge will publish follow ups as officials release more, including the names of the victims when
officials release them and the findings of the investigation as it moves forward.Related: https://www.thetalklounge.com/nine-killed-as-learjet-crashes-into-palm-beach-county-neighborhood
Related: https://www.thetalklounge.com/thomas-markle-fbi-arrest-florida
