Poland is observing two days of national mourning after a gunman attacked people in Kraków's historic Main Square on Saturday. Authorities say six people were killed and 15 others were wounded before police shot and detained the suspect.
The violence struck one of Poland's best-known public spaces, transforming a busy weekend afternoon in the Old Town into an emergency scene. Early official reports listed five deaths; authorities later raised the toll to six as the investigation developed.
What authorities have confirmed
Investigators say the 24-year-old suspect drove into the Main Square and opened fire. Police officers responding at the scene shot and wounded him, and he remains in custody while receiving treatment.
Officials have not released a complete account of the attack or a final motive. The casualty figures and other details may still be updated as hospitals, police and prosecutors reconcile their information.
Why prosecutors are treating it as terrorism
Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has classified the case as a terrorist offense. Officials say the suspect expressed far-right or ultranationalist views, but they have not announced evidence that he belonged to an organized extremist group.
That distinction matters. The terrorism classification describes the legal direction of the inquiry; it does not settle every question about motive, planning or possible assistance. Investigators are examining the suspect's devices, movements and contacts.
Three deaths at a family home are part of the inquiry
Prosecutors have joined the Kraków case with an investigation into the deaths of the suspect's parents and sister at the family's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, roughly 160 kilometres away. Preliminary findings cited by Polish authorities indicate that all three died from gunshot wounds and that the cases are connected.
The victims at the family home have not been publicly tied to any role in the Main Square attack. Their deaths are being investigated as part of the same sequence of events.
A city and country in mourning
People returned to the square with candles and flowers as part of the area remained restricted. The national mourning period began Sunday, while public events were curtailed and officials urged people to rely on confirmed information rather than circulating speculation.
Kraków's city government activated its crisis team after the shooting and coordinated police, ambulance and hospital response. The investigation is continuing, and authorities have said further verified findings will be released through official channels.
News Polite will update this report if the confirmed death toll, condition of the wounded or prosecutors' findings change.
