Kraków gunman described as ‘weird and sad’ loner

Neighbours have described the suspect in Saturday’s gun attack in Kraków, Poland, as a black-clad “weird and sad” loner who visited a shooting range every weekend.The 25-year-old, identified only as Michał O, is suspected of killing his parents and 21-year-old sister in their apartment in the small town of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, 160 kilometres northwest of Kraków.After that he drove to Kraków and, at about 3pm, drove at speed into the pedestrianised old town square. While still driving, he shot dead six people – four women and two men – with an automatic weapon and wounded 16. The shooting spree was ended when the gunman was shot by a police officer. Both men are in hospital, with the police officer “fighting for his life”.The suspect had no criminal record and held a permit for sporting firearms. He had two weapons registered in his name and was a member of a local shooting club. The car used in the attack was registered in his father’s name and, after the attack, police found weapons, ammunition and military equipment inside.READ MOREForensic investigators worked until late into the night at the family apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski as neighbours discussed the three dead and their suspected killer.“He’s a bit weird, he never talked, only if he remembered did he ever say good morning,” said Zdzisław Szostak, who remembered his parents as friendly and chatty. “I find it hard to understand what happened. They were normal people, very open, always smiling. She worked close to here at the Biedronka [convenience store].”Szostak said it was no secret in the building that the 25-year-old and his father kept weapons in the next-door apartment. “It was his passion, they both went to a nearby shooting range every Sunday morning,” Szostak told tabloid daily newspaper Fakt. “It didn’t seem dangerous to me.”Poland’s interior minister said at the time of his arrest the suspect was wearing “military-style attire” and used a military-grade weapon during the attack, but that he was not a soldier.He said a preliminary investigation revealed he was an “ultranationalist ... follower of far-right ideologies”.[ Alarm in Europe over US plans for ‘security deal’ with RussiaOpens in new window ]Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk confirmed the additional deaths on Saturday evening and announced two days of mourning after the attack.Polish president Karol Nawrocki said he was “deeply concerned by reports of the tragic events” in Kraków, and that his thoughts were with victims, those injured and their families.While such shootings in Poland are rare, the number of legally held firearms in the country has risen above one million for the first time, with the president among those with weapons at home.In September the head of state opened a shooting range and called for public debate on “responsible access to firearms in Poland”.The most recent poll on the matter, from 2022, indicates 23 per cent of Poles agree with him.The attacks prompted condolences from around Europe and saw the European Parliament lower its flags to half-mast. A Kraków hospital treating the policeman who stopped the attack on Saturday appealed for blood donations.Three of the victims of the attack were Polish nationals, one was British and two more have yet to be identified. In Kraków on Sunday, shocked locals expressed thanks for the police officer’s quick action.“If it weren’t for the policeman who stopped him, there’s no telling what would have happened next,” Kuba Antoniewicz said on local radio. “He was driving that car the whole time. He is a hero who saved many people.”