Prosecutors link Krakow Main Square attack to three bodies found in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

The attack in Krakow

On Saturday, 7 November, a masked 24-year-old drove a car into the Main Square (Rynek Glowny) in Krakow and opened fire on people there, according to Gazeta Olsztynka. Six people were killed and 16 were injured, including two police officers and the attacker himself. The suspect was wounded and detained after an exchange of fire with police, and officers found weapons and ammunition in his car. He held a firearms permit and had no prior convictions or police records, the outlet reported.

Three bodies in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

Later the same day, police found the bodies of three people in the suspect's flat in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski: a 53-year-old man, a 52-year-old woman and a 21-year-old woman. Police identified them as the suspect's parents and sister. Daniel Prokopowicz, spokesman for the Kielce District Prosecutor's Office, told a briefing on Sunday that the bodies bore gunshot wounds.

“I can confirm that the bodies of all the people found in the flat bear gunshot wounds.”

Prokopowicz said the bodies had been secured for autopsy while the examination of the flat continued. Preliminary findings suggest the deaths may have occurred on Saturday, and no neighbours had reported hearing gunshots. Police found no silencer in the flat. He said other locations in the voivodeship were also being checked, while he could not yet confirm media reports that the family had earlier lived in Waśniów.

Seven more firearms and the permit question

Investigators seized seven firearms and a significant quantity of ammunition in the flat. Together with the weapons found in Krakow, that brings the total to 11 firearms, which Prokopowicz said matches the number the attacker and his father were licensed to hold. The suspect himself held a permit for two firearms, prosecutors said. Investigators must now establish which weapons fired the shots in the flat and whether all 11 were held legally.

Killed in Krakow attack6

Injured in Krakow attack16

Bodies found in Ostrowiec flat3

Killed in Krakow attack

6 people

Injured in Krakow attack

16 people

Bodies found in Ostrowiec flat

3 people

Data from the article text

A single investigation

The National Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation on Sunday and announced it on X. A prosecutor from the Krakow division of its organised crime and corruption department took the decision. The probe covers the killing of six people with a firearm and the attempted killing of many others, including police officers, and prosecutors classified the Krakow attack as a crime of a terrorist nature. Spokesman Przemysław Nowak said the probe also covers the killing of the three people in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, which prosecutors place on 7 November.

“The evidence indicates that the same person committed these acts.”

Investigators from several units worked first in Krakow and then in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, through the night, and that work continues. Attorney General and Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek wrote on X that the organised crime division is competent for terrorist offences. He said the adopted legal classification assumes the attacker acted to seriously intimidate many people.