KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — The 24-year-old with far-right views who killed six people and wounded 15 others in a shooting in a Polish city square Saturday died in the hospital Monday, police said.
The attacker, wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest, drove into the Main Square in Krakow’s Old Town and opened fire. The location is a major tourist destination in Poland’s second-largest city, and several foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
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A man holds a candle as he stands at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
People arrive at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A couple embrace in the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Chairs lie scattered across a cafe terrace at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police said the man continued firing even after he was wounded by police officers. He had been in critical condition in the hospital since the attack.
Authorities also found the bodies of the assailant’s sister, mother and father at the man’s family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Krakow. They likely died from gunshot wounds.
On Sunday night, mourners laid candles and flowers alongside bullet holes in Krakow after the city’s central square turned into a site of bloodshed and grief.
“I come here so as not to get caught up in a spiral of fear and anxiety,” resident Maciej Sikorski told The Associated Press from the square. “In a situation like this, it’s all too easy to stop living — to start being afraid instead, and just vegetate. That is something I really want to avoid.”
Prosecutors said Sunday they opened an investigation into the murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, with the act “constituting a terrorist offense.”
Four women and two men were killed in the shooting. Three of the women and one of the men were Polish, authorities said. A man from the U.K. and a woman from Austria were also among the dead.
The two police officers who stopped the gunman, in actions authorities hailed as heroic, remain in the hospital. They were both conscious by Sunday afternoon.
Five foreigners are among the wounded. They come from the U.K., Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
A man holds a candle as he stands at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
People arrive at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A couple embrace in the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Chairs lie scattered across a cafe terrace at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — Poland was in shock after a weekend mass shooting in which a gunman opened fire, killing six people and wounding 15 in the city of Krakow before police shot and wounded him.
The shooter died in the hospital on Monday morning, police said. The man had been in critical condition and had had several surgeries.
Authorities have said he held far-right views, but it was not disclosed whether he was affiliated with any organized extremist group. Prosecutors said they are investigating the shooting as a terrorist offense.
Police have also found the bodies of the suspect's parents and sister at the family's home.
Here is what we know about the mass killing that marked a grim first in modern-day Poland:
Police say the 24-year-old attacker, wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest, drove into the city's Main Square and opened fire on Saturday. The square, in Krakow’s Old Town, is a major tourist destination in Poland’s second-largest city.
What unfolded was a scene of chaos and terror. Videos posted on social media show people running away from the square into narrow streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims.
Even after he was wounded by police officers, the attacker continued firing, Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło said.
Four women and two men were killed in the square.
Three of the women and one man were Polish, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar, the Malopolska regional governor, said on Sunday. A man from the United Kingdom and a woman from Austria were also among the dead. The wounded included people from Britain, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
The two police officers who stopped the gunman, in actions authorities described as heroic, remained in the hospital. They were both conscious, with one emerging from a coma on Sunday afternoon.
After the shooting, authorities on Saturday night paused St. Mary’s Trumpet Call — a traditional five-note melody that is played every hour from the highest tower of St. Mary’s Basilica on Main Square — in tribute to the victims.
It was the first time the call had been missed since World War II.
On Sunday afternoon, St. Anne’s Church in Krakow filled with mourners attending a service for the victims.
The square reopened Sunday evening with mourners gathering to lay flowers and candles in honor of the victims.
Police have not released the name of the 24-year-old attacker, a Polish national.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński described his views as radical and ultranationalist, and said evidence indicated he had a fascination with far-right ideologies.
Prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder, including attacks on police officers, describing the shooting as a terrorist offense.
At the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Krakow, authorities said they discovered three bodies. Police identified them as the suspect's parents and sister. They said the three likely died from gunshot wounds.
The suspect’s dead sibling was a young artist studying at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, which confirmed that Magdalena Oksińska was a third-year student.
“Magdalena Oksińska, 21 years old, a queer person, was an absolutely talented painter, photographer, poet and writer,” architect Pavko Krajka wrote on social media, in a post accompanied by images of the artist’s paintings. “Her death is a great loss for Krakow, Polish, European and queer culture.”
Police found four firearms at the scene of the attack. They were recovered from the attacker or from his car.
Klęczar said the attacker’s father legally owned more than 10 guns and that the attacker also owned firearms. Local officials said seven weapons were also seized from the family home, bringing the total number of firearms recovered to 11.
The Swit shooting club in Starachowice, where the attacker is believed to have trained, issued a statement Sunday saying it offered only “static shooting,” which involves firing from a fixed position at a stationary target.
The suspect, it said, “was never trained in our club in the areas of dynamic, tactical or combat shooting.”
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland, a country of 37 million people where about 411,000 people hold gun permits. Interest in gun ownership has been rising.
Kacper Rekawek, a researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague, Netherlands, said the attack resembled incidents of far-right “lone wolf” attacks in Europe over the past years.
A woman lights a candle near the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A women crying at the main square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Forensic investigators work behind police privacy screens in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Worshippers attend a Mass for the victims of the previous day's shooting in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrsel)
Police officers stand at the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
People place candles near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
The flag of Poland flies at half-mast at the town hall in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A police officer guards near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Candles stand near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
