KRAKÓW, November 8, 2026 (Agencies) – The 24-year-old Polish man suspected of carrying out a deadly mass shooting in the southern city of Kraków had no previous criminal record and held a valid firearms licence, Polish authorities said, as investigators examined his background, weapons and possible extremist links.
The suspect, whose identity has not been officially disclosed, allegedly drove into the city’s historic Main Market Square on Saturday and opened fire randomly at people from a vehicle. Six people were killed and 16 others injured, including two police officers.
Police said the attacker was wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest and was armed with a rifle and a pistol. Several other firearms and ammunition were also recovered from his vehicle. Investigators subsequently found additional weapons at his family residence.
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwi?ski said preliminary findings suggested that the suspect held radical, ultranationalist views and was fascinated by far-right ideologies. Prosecutors have classified the Kraków attack as a terrorist offence, although the precise motive and any possible organisational connections remain under investigation.
In a further development, police discovered the bodies of three people at the suspect’s family home in Ostrowiec ?wi?tokrzyski, around 160 kilometres northeast of Kraków. They were identified as his 53-year-old father, 52-year-old mother and 21-year-old sister. All three appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Polish prosecutors believe the same individual was responsible for the killings at the family home and the subsequent attack in Kraków. Both incidents are being investigated as part of a single case.
The suspect was shot by police during an exchange of gunfire and taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition under police guard. Authorities have not yet been able to question him or formally present charges because of his medical condition.
Investigators are also examining how he obtained his firearms licence, his access to weapons and the events leading up to the shootings. Police have not established a definitive motive.
The combined death toll could reach nine if investigators confirm the suspect’s responsibility for all three killings at the family home.