Poland begins two days of national mourning after Krakow shooting that killed six

Poland began two days of national mourning on Sunday for the six people killed on Saturday in a shooting in the main square of Krakow, in the city's historic center, an attack the government is investigating as an act of a terrorist nature.

On Saturday, at about 3:00 p.m., a man opened fire with an automatic weapon from his car in Market Square, an area crowded with tourists. Six people were killed — four women and two men, including a 51-year-old Austrian woman and a 32-year-old British man — and at least 15 were wounded, among them two police officers.

Police arrested the suspect a few streets away after a shootout lasting about 20 minutes. He was identified as Michal O., a 24-year-old Polish man with no criminal record, from the city of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. He was injured during his arrest and remains hospitalized in critical condition. Hours later, police found the bodies of his parents and his 21-year-old sister in the family home.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the attacker held far-right ideas and was “fascinated by far-right ideologies.” Prosecutors announced on Sunday an investigation into an act of a “terrorist nature” and are examining possible links to radical groups.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who traveled to Krakow on Saturday evening, said that “until now, Poland had never experienced a terrorist incident this serious.” As a mark of mourning, flags are flying at half-staff and the traditional trumpet call from St. Mary's Church, on the square, was suspended for 12 hours, something that had not happened since 1939, according to the state news agency PAP.

Photo: Reuters

Source: Le Monde