The key facts

  • The attacker and his father were members of the Świt shooting club; the club says it taught him only sports shooting
  • The bodies of the suspect's parents and sister were found in his home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
  • The Polish prosecutor's office is investigating the shooting as a terrorist act; national mourning has been declared

The attacker was a member of a shooting club

The man who opened fire on Kraków's Main Market Square on November 7 was a member of the sports shooting club Świt — as was his father. A club representative told journalists about this, as reported by Gazeta.Ru citing RIA Novosti. According to him, the suspect, whom Polish media identify as Michał O., was last seen at the shooting range at the end of August, and over the whole of 2026 he visited the club only twice.

The club stresses the sporting nature of the training

The club's leadership issued an official statement emphasizing that the organization is engaged exclusively in sports shooting at stationary targets. According to Life.ru, the club particularly noted that the suspect never received training there in dynamic, tactical or combat shooting, expressed condolences to the families of the victims, and declared its readiness to cooperate with the investigation.

Course of the attack and the number of victims

The shooting began at around 3:00 pm local time (5:00 pm Moscow time) on November 7. According to Polish police data cited by Life.ru, an armed man opened fire on pedestrians from a car. As a result, six people were killed — four women and two men — and 16 more were injured, including two police officers and the shooter himself, who was wounded during his arrest after a shootout. The suspect was taken to hospital; according to the prosecutor, he cannot yet be questioned.

Bodies of relatives found in the suspect's home

During a search of the house in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski where the attacker lived, police discovered the bodies of three people — his parents and his sister. The circumstances of their deaths are being established as part of the investigation. Gazeta.Ru also reported the discovery of the bodies of relatives in that house.

Investigation as a terrorist act and mourning

The Polish prosecutor's office is investigating the mass shooting as a terrorist act. In connection with the tragedy, national mourning has been declared in Poland, and the Kraków authorities have extended mourning events until November 11. Following the incident, police patrols were reinforced in Warsaw.

Contradictions over the Russian victim

Publications differ in their assessment of the information about a victim with Russian citizenship. Gazeta.Ru, citing its sources, reported that a Russian citizen was killed in the incident. Life.ru, on the contrary, states that the Russian woman was mistakenly declared dead and that the embassy explained how the confusion arose after the shooting. The cited publications contain no finally confirmed information about the fate of the Russian woman.