Poland remains in shock this Sunday, November 8, one day after the shooting in Krakow by a young man allegedly linked to far-right ideas, which left six dead and 15 injured. The Polish Prosecutor's Office announced the opening of an investigation into a possible act of terrorism.

First modification: 11/08/2026 - 22:06 Last modification: 11/08/2026 - 22:10

"I am devastated. Our city will never be the same after what happened yesterday," Weronika Filar, a 27-year-old employee, told AFP. "It is one of the safest places in the world," he added.

A country in mourning and shock. The Polish Prosecutor's Office announced this Sunday, November 8, the opening of an investigation into an act of a "terrorist nature", one day after the fatal shooting in Krakow, perpetrated by a young man "fascinated" by far-right ideas, which killed six people and injured 15 others.

The attacker is suspected of having caused a total of nine deaths, after his parents and sister were found dead, with gunshot wounds, in their home, located two hours by car from Krakow.

The Market Square, in the heart of the city's old town and one of the main tourist attractions, remained closed to visitors on Sunday morning. Most of its cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops kept their doors closed, according to AFP journalists.

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Some neighbors asked the police guarding the area to allow them to cross the security cordon to leave a candle at the scene of the tragedy, but their requests were rejected.

Meanwhile, investigators reconstructed the attacker's route in search of clues and testimonies.

Since the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this Eastern European country of 38 million people, devastated by the Nazis during World War II, once again had war on its doorstep. However, Poland maintains its reputation as a safe country, where episodes of violence are relatively rare.

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"Terrorism from within"

In recent months there have been several knife attacks against educational establishments, perpetrated by young people who, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, were motivated by "a cult of violence" fueled on social networks.

However, Poles had not suffered a massacre of civilians of such magnitude since the end of the communist regime (1944-1989).

"For more than a decade we have been talking about the external terrorist threat. However, terrorism has hit Poland from within," the leading newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza noted this Sunday.

An example of the magnitude of the tragedy is that the traditional trumpet melody that the firefighters on duty play every hour from the tower of the Church of Saint Mary, in Krakow's Market Square, stopped being heard since Saturday night, something that had not happened since 1939.

The authorities declared two days of national mourning, Sunday and Monday. Flags fly at half-mast and radio stations modified their usual programming.

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Military clothing, tactical vest and a semi-automatic rifle

It was around 3:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT) on Saturday when the attacker arrived by car near the square and began shooting indiscriminately at passers-by, tourists, taxi drivers and drivers of the traditional horse-drawn carriages, characteristic of the city.

The Police intervened within minutes. A chase then began between the aggressor, who was driving a black Subaru, and a local police patrol.

At an intersection, the man crashed into a stopped vehicle. Dressed in a military uniform, his face covered, with a helmet and tactical vest, he got out of his car and exchanged gunfire with two police officers. He was armed with an AR-15 type semi-automatic rifle.

The two agents were injured by their shots, but one of them, despite the injuries suffered, managed to subdue the attacker.

The five injured foreigners are of British, Portuguese, Russian, German and Austrian nationality, the Police informed the Polish news agency PAP this Sunday.

Ten Polish citizens were also injured, including two police officers.

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"Ultranationalist" ideas

The health status of the 15 people hospitalized with gunshot wounds improved slightly during the night, although not all of them are still out of danger, according to a police spokeswoman cited by Polish media.

Among the six fatalities are two foreigners: a British citizen and a woman whose nationality is still unknown.

The attacker, who underwent surgery, remained in critical condition this Sunday morning, according to the police spokesperson.

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Investigators, convinced that he acted alone, are working to determine his motivations and psychological profile.

Identified by the press by his first name and the initial of his last name, Michal O., born in 2002, lived with his parents and sister in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a medium-sized town about two hours' drive from Krakow.

"We discovered the bodies of three people in an apartment in the center of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski: a 53-year-old man and two women, 52 and 21 years old. These are the parents and sister" of the attacker, the Police reported in a statement released this Sunday, in which they specified that the three had gunshot wounds.

According to investigators cited by the Polish press, Michal O. had no criminal record. Both he and his father were members of a shooting club.

The Minister of the Interior raised the hypothesis on Saturday night that the attacker was ideologically linked to "ultranationalist" positions.

"Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies," said Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński.

This article is an adaptation of its original in French.

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