KRAKOW, Poland — The gunman suspected of opening fire on pedestrians from his car in central Krakow, killing at least six people and wounding 15, has died of his injuries, local police announced Monday. The attacker, identified as 24-year-old Michal O., succumbed in hospital early Monday morning, two days after the Saturday afternoon rampage that plunged the historic city into chaos.
“We inform you that the perpetrator of the tragic events died this morning in hospital,” Malopolska Police said in a statement posted on X.
Family Found Dead at Home
Three bodies were also discovered in the suspect’s apartment: a 53-year-old man and two women aged 52 and 21. Police said Sunday that the victims were the gunman’s parents and sister, all of whom had suffered gunshot wounds.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the attack as a “terrorist” act, and prosecutors announced Sunday that they had opened a terrorism investigation.
Witnesses Describe Panic
The shooting began around 3 p.m. Saturday, when the assailant fired on passersby from his vehicle near the city’s main market square. Witnesses described scenes of widespread panic.
“I saw shots coming from the driver’s window, and smoke pouring out. I ran to the police station on the main market square… it was full of people hiding on the ground,” one bystander told the Polish outlet Interia.
During a search of the attacker’s vehicle, officers found additional weapons and a large quantity of ammunition, said Katarzyna Cislo, a member of the Krakow police, speaking on the Polish channel TVN24.
Suspect ‘Fascinated by Far-Right Ideologies’
Dressed in military-style clothing and armed, the man is believed to have acted alone, according to police sources. He was shot and wounded by officers during his arrest and was taken to hospital, where he died Monday.
Authorities said the suspect held a firearms permit and was carrying a pistol and an AR-15 rifle at the time of the attack. His father, 53, also owned seven firearms under a sports shooting permit; those weapons were seized from the family home. Father and son trained regularly at the same shooting club.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said Saturday evening that the suspect appeared to hold “ultranationalist” views. “Everything suggests he had very, very radical opinions,” Kierwinski said, describing the man as “fascinated by far-right ideologies” while cautioning that the motive still had to be verified. Tusk made similar remarks. Michal O. was not a member of the Polish armed forces.
Victims Include Foreign Nationals
Among the dead were four women and two men, including three Polish women aged 61, 47 and 53, a 32-year-old British man and a 51-year-old Austrian woman. One victim has not yet been identified.
Of the 15 wounded, 10 are Polish nationals — including two police officers — while the others are British, Portuguese, Russian, German and Austrian citizens, police told the PAP news agency Sunday.
Several horse-drawn carriage drivers working in Krakow’s historic center were also among the injured. Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek issued an appeal on X for citizens to donate blood for one of the wounded officers, Jakub Kulik. “He has a lung that is no longer functioning and needs every drop of blood,” Zurek wrote.
Poland will observe two days of national mourning, Tusk announced.
