The key facts

  • The attack took place on November 7: 6 dead, at least 15 injured; among the wounded are citizens of Germany, Austria, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Russia
  • A 24-year-old Pole was detained with an AR-15 rifle, dressed in military-style clothing
  • Bloomberg notes that the attack heightened tensions against the backdrop of the conflict between Tusk and Nawrocki over the Constitutional Tribunal

Attack in central Kraków

The shooting in central Kraków took place on November 7. According to the latest reports, six people were killed and at least 15 were injured. Among the wounded are two police officers and five foreign nationals from Germany, Austria, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Russia. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru citing data from the police of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

Detention of the attacker

According to the police, the shooting at passers-by was carried out by a 24-year-old citizen of Poland. During the attack he was dressed in military-style clothing and used an AR-15 rifle; other weapons and ammunition were found in his car. After the attack, the man tried to flee by car, but crashed into another vehicle and was injured during his detention.

Political background

Bloomberg emphasizesthat the attack has particular significance for the situation in Poland against the backdrop of demonstrations outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw and the conflict between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Karol Nawrocki. Jarosław Sellin, a deputy from the opposition Law and Justice party, stated that 'without the coup carried out by the Constitutional Tribunal, there would have been no shooting in Kraków' — this is an assessment by the opposition, not an established fact about the attacker's motives.

Crisis around the Constitutional Tribunal

Tension around the court arose before the attack: on October 30 in Warsaw a crowd of protesters gathered outside the building of the Constitutional Tribunal. A notice appeared on the court's website announcing the removal of president Bogdan Święczkowski and deputy Bartłomiej Sochański, and judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska declared herself acting head of the tribunal as the most senior judge. President Nawrocki called what happened a 'forcible seizure' of a constitutional body, urgently returned from a foreign trip and demanded the reinstatement of the previous leadership.

The authorities' reaction

After the shooting, the Prime Minister of Poland addressed politicians; details of this address are not provided in available publications. Official conclusions about the attacker's motives and the attack's connection to the political crisis have not yet been voiced — at this point, such a connection exists only as an assessment by opposition politicians and Bloomberg's observation about the general background of tension.