Poland Opens Terrorism Investigation After Krakow Mass Shooting Kills Six

Polish authorities on Sunday opened a terrorism investigation into a mass shooting in Krakow a day earlier that killed six people and injured many more. The 24-year-old suspect, who carried out the attack with a semi-automatic rifle, was described by authorities as fascinated by far-right ideologies. He remains in hospital in critical condition.

The National Prosecutor's Office announced the probe on social media, saying it had "launched an investigation today into yesterday's attack in Krakow". It said it was examining "the killing of six people.. using a firearm, and the attempted murder of many others, including police officers, this act constituting a terrorist offence".

The suspect, a Polish national, opened fire at random on Saturday in the heart of Krakow's historic centre. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had already labelled the assault an act of "terrorism".

Police said a British national was among those killed in Poland's second city. Authorities told the PAP news agency that the 15 wounded included citizens of Austria, Britain, Germany, Portugal and Russia.

The investigation took a darker turn when three more bodies were discovered at the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, some 150 kilometres northeast of Krakow. Regional police said the dead were the gunman's parents and a sister: a 53-year-old man and two women aged 52 and 21. Police said the bodies bore injuries "preliminarily assessed as gunshot wounds" and that seven firearms were seized from the flat.

The gunman was wounded in a shootout with police that also left two officers injured. According to police, the suspect abandoned his car at an intersection and began firing at the officers. He was masked and dressed in military style clothing, including a bullet-proof vest.

The interior ministry said one officer was in serious but stable condition, and police appealed for blood donors on his behalf. They named him as "Jakub Kulik, who without hesitation confronted an armed attacker". Footage circulating on social media showed the two officers firing at the gunman, with one managing to wound him despite his own injuries.

On Sunday morning, the normally bustling scene of the attack was cordoned off with red-and-white tape. Residents laid candles at the site while police checked the bags of workers at the square's cafes and restaurants. Most souvenir shops stayed shut, and black flags and Polish flags bearing black ribbons appeared across the city after Warsaw declared two days of national mourning beginning Sunday.

Residents voiced their shock at the violence. "I'm absolutely devastated," said Weronika Filar, 27. "It's one of the safest places on Earth, genuinely.. I did not expect anything like this to happen to us," she said, adding: "Our city will never be the same."

The suspect has been identified in Polish media as Michal O. According to investigators cited in local reports, he had no previous criminal record and belonged to a shooting club along with his father. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said police also found weapons in the suspect's car.