What Neighbors Write About Poland – 8 November 2026: Shooting in Kraków in Foreign Media Reports

In brief

• Deutschlandfunk reports that six people were killed and at least 15 injured in Kraków, including citizens of Germany, Austria, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom; the perpetrator fired a long gun of military design, was shot and detained.
• Deutschlandfunk reports that Interior Minister Kierwiński believes the perpetrator may have been guided by a far-right (rechtsextremistische) ideology, and President Nawrocki declared national mourning.
• DER SPIEGEL writes that this was the worst firearms incident in Poland in decades; the perpetrator fired from a moving car, exchanged fire with police after fleeing, and three bodies were found in his house near Kraków.
• The Belarusian Charter 97 reports that 16 people were injured, including two police officers who detained the attacker, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the officers heroes.
• The Russian Wiesti.ru, described in the review as propaganda media, reports that the perpetrator legally owned the weapon, had no prior convictions and used an AR-15 carbine; it also cites police spokesperson Andrzej Fijołek that a significant arsenal was found in his car. The information about a British citizen among the dead has not been independently verified.

German press

According to the German Deutschlandfunk, a tragic shooting took place at a square in Kraków popular with tourists, in which six people – four women and two men – were killed and at least 15 were injured, including citizens of Germany, Austria, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom. Deutschlandfunk reports that the perpetrator fired a long gun of military design and was shot and detained, while Polish Interior Minister Kierwiński believes he may have been guided by a far-right (rechtsextremistische) ideology, and President Nawrocki declared national mourning (Polen - Tödliche Schüsse in Krakau: Täter offenbar mit rechtsextremer Ideologie - auch Ausländer unter Opfern – Deutschlandfunk). The Russian portal Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) reports that the perpetrator legally owned the weapon and had no prior convictions, and Russian propaganda media also reported the news of British citizens among the dead, which, according to this source, has not been independently verified (Польская полиция раскрыла подробности о стрелявшем в Кракове – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)). Both accounts describe the same incident in Kraków, although the Russian account points to additional details about the weapon and the perpetrator. DER SPIEGEL writes similarly, adding that this was the worst firearms incident in Poland in decades, that the perpetrator fired from a moving car, and that after fleeing he exchanged fire with police and was wounded, and that three more bodies were found in his house, about two hours' drive from Kraków (Krakau, Polen: Was über die Todesschüsse bekannt ist – DER SPIEGEL).

Belarusian press

The Belarusian portal Charter 97 reports that 16 people were injured in the shooting in Kraków, including two police officers who, according to this source, detained the 24-year-old attacker and are in hospital in serious condition. Charter 97 quotes a post by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who called the officers heroes and wrote that they had probably saved many lives. (Поляки спасают героев-полицейских из Кракова – Charter 97)

Russian press

The Russian portal Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) reports on the shooting in Kraków on 7 November, in which an armed man fired at passers-by with an AR-15 carbine. According to the Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) account, citing police spokesperson Andrzej Fijołek, the perpetrator legally owned the weapon and had no prior convictions, and a significant arsenal was found in his car. Kremlin propaganda in Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) also reports that at least six people were killed and that the injured in critical condition include a citizen of the United Kingdom, which, according to this source, has not been independently verified. Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) also reports the event, stating that according to the portal Onet the victim was a citizen of the United Kingdom, and that among the victims were also three women with Polish citizenship; it further adds that the bodies of three people were found in the perpetrator's house, which was established with the help of a drone (Гражданин Великобритании погиб при стрельбе в Кракове – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)). Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) also reports the event, stating that Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the discovery in the perpetrator's house of the bodies of two women and a man, who were probably members of his family, the information being obtained with a drone, and that the perpetrator was taken to hospital in serious condition (Полиция обнаружила тела трех человек в доме стрелка из Кракова – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)).

Read also

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