Terrorism investigation was opened after attacker opened fire in a market square
We are restarting our live coverage of European news after the mass shooting in Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, over the weekend in which six people were killed.
In an update this morning, the authorities said the 24-year-old Polish attacker, who had been injured in a shootout with police, has died in hospital.
Polish prosecutors had opened a terrorism investigation after the man, from the town of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in southeastern Poland, opened fire on Kraków’s popular Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon, killing six people, including a Briton, and injuring 17 others.
On the first of two days of national mourning declared after the rare mass shooting, police confirmed yesterday that three people found dead at the gunman’s home after the attack were his father, 53, mother, 52, and sister, 21.
Five of the injured are foreign nationals from Britain, Austria, Germany , Portugal and Russia. Two police officers were also among the injured, one of whom was in a serious condition.
The interior minister, Marcin Kierwiński, said the suspect was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held “very radical” and “ultra-nationalistic” views.
But officials appeared to backtrack from these comments as nationalist opposition politicians questioned the grounds on which they were based.
“Until the matter is fully clarified and the authorities are in possession of complete information, it is best to refrain from making comments, even if there are some initial indications,” government spokesperson Adam Szlapka told TVN24.
Meanwhile, the justice minister, Waldemar Zurek, said despite the attacker’s death, the investigation will continue, aiming to establish if he acted alone. Main Market Square reopened on Sunday evening after a security cordon was lifted.
Stay with us for the latest developments on the police investigation and other news from around the continent.
