Poland awoke to grief and heightened alert on Sunday as the country entered two days of national mourning following a deadly mass shooting in Krakow that authorities said was likely fuelled by far-right ideology.
The attack, carried out on Saturday in the historic main square, stunned a nation that has long seen itself as safer than many Western European neighbours. It also intensified unease after a series of school stabbings in October that officials linked to extremist content circulating online.
Authorities said six people were killed. Seventeen others were wounded, including two police officers and the gunman.
The suspect, a 24-year-old man, remained in critical condition in hospital, according to police and a local official. His parents and sister were later found dead at their home.
In Krakow, police locked down the old town’s main market square and nearby streets, allowing only essential workers through checkpoints. Several cafes in the area did not open, city hall flags hung at half-mast, and mourners left candles at multiple spots around the square.
The iconic trumpet call from St Mary’s church overlooking the square was halted for 12 hours in tribute to the victims — the first such suspension since 1939, state news agency PAP reported.
Security was also tightened in Warsaw, where police said on Saturday they were increasing measures in crowded tourist areas. Barriers were placed on streets leading to Krakowskie Przedmiescie, a major thoroughfare in the capital’s historic centre.
In Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski — the suspect’s home town about 200km north of Krakow — police said they had discovered three bodies and that investigations were continuing.
“Yesterday, before 22:00, we discovered the bodies of three individuals – a 53-year-old man and two women, aged 52 and 21 – in an apartment located in a residential building in the centre of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski,” police wrote on X.
Attacks shatter sense of security
Maria, 20, who works at a cafe in Warsaw, said the news from Krakow hit her hard.
“I almost burst into tears” when she heard about the shooting, she said.
“Recent events – not just this one, but things happening lately – are really affecting our sense of security,” she added.
Rzeczpospolita, one of Poland’s leading daily newspapers, said in an editorial that the shooting marked a turning point, bringing a “brutal end to an era in which Poland was considered an island of safety”.
As the country mourned, attention also turned to the response on the ground. Officials and residents praised police officers who detained the gunman after a close-range shootout.
Two officers were injured, and police issued an urgent request for blood for one of them, saying he was “fighting for his life in hospital”.
“Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Moranski are true heroes,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday in a post on X. “They likely saved many human lives, disregarding the risk to their own.”
