Revealed: Poland ‘terror’ suspect is 25-year-old ‘cadet at navy college’ 80 miles away from vacationer spot the place British nationwide and 5 others had been shot lifeless
The suspected terrorist who killed his family before shooting six people dead at a crowded Polish market is a 25-year-old military cadet at a school 80 miles from the city where he opened fire, it can be revealed.
Dressed in military-style fatigues, the Nazi-obsessed gunman killed four women and two men – including one British man – on Saturday.
The attack, which also left 15 wounded, took place in the historic main square, when the assailant drove up in a black Subaru at about 3pm local time and fired at a tram, pedestrians and two horses with an AR-15-style assault rifle.
His rampage was brought to a halt when a heroic police officer, already hit three times, approached the car and shot him at point-blank range before collapsing from his own wounds.
The suspect, locally identified as Michal O – a Polish citizen believed to be a cadet at a military school about 80 miles from Krakow – survived and is being treated in hospital.
In a development on Saturday night, Poland‘s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said two women and a man were also found dead at the gunman’s home, believed to be his parents and sister.
Interior minister Marcin Kierwinski said the attacker was ‘fascinated by Far-Right ideologies’ and had ‘very radical views’.
His neighbours said it was a ‘shock’ to hear of the shooting. ‘A polite, quiet guy. We can’t say anything bad about him,’ other residents in his apartment building said, insisting nothing in his behaviour had raised their suspicions.
Footage from the suspected terror attack in Krakow appeared the show the alleged attacker’s face, identified locally as Michal O
He is understood to have driven a black Subaru into the city’s Main Market Square before opening fire with an AR-15 rifle, killing six. Pictured: Police inspect a black car in the square
Security services and police pictured outside the Krakow attacker’s home in south-eastern Poland, where his family were found dead
Video showed a police officer approaching a person believed to be the shooter, who is dressed in military-style green fatigues, and firing up to six shots before collapsing from his injuries
‘Just an ordinary guy. He’d walk around with his hood up, say ‘good morning’. I can’t say a bad word about him,’ another neighbour told Polish media.
The officer had emergency surgery and was in a ‘very critical’ condition. Another policeman who was hit is understood to be fighting for his life, along with several other victims.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said senior constables Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański were ‘true heroes’ as both remained critical in hospital tonight, though he did not say which officer had approached the gunman’s car.
Harrowing video footage from the square showed women sobbing beside the bodies of the dead, while blood pooled on the paving around them. Other footage showed CPR being performed on unconscious casualties as more police arrived at the scene.
Unverified videos on social media showed shooting in the square as traditional horse-drawn carriages, popular with tourists, passed through or were parked nearby. A man could be seen taking cover in one of the many restaurants and cafes.
The Polish interior ministry said the five foreign nationals injured in the shooting came from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Britain.
And the military confirmed the suspect is not a soldier and said the uniform and bulletproof vests he wore were ‘self-assembled’ rather than official issue.
A large cache of weapons found in the boot of the Subaru included a DB carbine, a P99 pistol, a Glock pistol and a Chinese-made bulletproof vest. Some of the weapons are reported to belong to the suspect and others to his father, in whose name the car was registered.
The suspect had no previous criminal record.
Last night Poland’s Left-wing prime minister Mr Tusk said: ‘My deepest condolences go out to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic attack in Krakow. I offer the highest praise to the heroic police officers who acted at the risk of their own lives.
‘And I make an urgent appeal to politicians of all stripes: do not exploit this tragedy. We will uncover all the circumstances surrounding this crime.’
Tomasz Waszczuk, of the district prosecutor’s office in the city, added: ‘Everything points to the fact that he opened fire on random people. I can confirm that there are six fatalities.
‘More than a dozen people sustained injuries of varying severity and are currently in the hospital.’
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was ‘shocked and saddened by the appalling shooting’, adding his thoughts were with the victims.
‘The United Kingdom stands in solidarity with the people of Poland,’ he said.
And Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: ‘The UK Government deeply mourns the British national and other victims who have died after the appalling attack in Krakow.
‘All of my deepest condolences go to the families of the victims.’
Police and the fire service seen near Krakow’s Main Market Square after the shooting
People inside a shop at the site of a shooting near the main market square, as broken glass litters the floor
An air ambulance pictured in the square after the attack, which killed six and injured at least 16, including two police officers
Jonny Daniels, 40, a London-based Holocaust education tour guide, had left the square with a group of 30 tourists – including three Britons – five minutes before the shooting began.
They were on their way to visit the Krakow ghettos, where Jews were held during the Holocaust.
He said: ‘We were very lucky. If we stayed for a bit longer, then we would have been caught. Some of us definitely would have been shot.’
His group was due to return today.
President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, those affected and their families.
He added that he was ‘deeply concerned’ and was awaiting ‘a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding these tragic events’.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland, though three knife attacks on schools were staged within four days last month leaving a woman dead and children among the wounded.
Mr Tusk said at the time the attacks were driven by the ‘glorification of violence’ online, adding: ‘We are not dealing with any group organised on a big scale.’
Before today’s shooting an anti-government protest had been scheduled for 2pm local time in Matejki Place, near the market square.
Poland is in the midst of a constitutional crisis over the appointment of judges to the country’s top court which has split the nationalist president and pro-European government.
Earlier this year Mr Nawrocki refused to swear in judges nominated by a majority of the Polish parliament, led by prime minister and former European Council chief Mr Tusk.
Mr Tusk’s coalition had vowed to reform the court on coming to power in 2023 after the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party packed the bench with its own nominees, drawing international criticism for its perceived attack on the rule of law.
But Mr Nawrocki, who was endorsed by the PiS, has frustrated attempts to repopulate the court and new judges also saw their access blocked by the tribunal’s president Bogdan Swieczkowski.
Last week Mr Nawrocki returned from a visit to Africa after reports the tribunal’s longest-serving judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska had suspended Mr Swieczkowski and taken charge herself.
Officers have guarded the court since last Friday as hundreds of protesters gathered to demand Mr Swieczkowski’s reinstatement.
