Krakow mass shooting assailant dies in hospital, Polish police say

A young gunman who killed six people in central Krakow on Saturday in an unprecedented Polish mass shooting has died in hospital, police said on Monday. Very little information has come out about the shooter, who was shot by police officers and arrested minutes after he opened fire at people from his car in Krakow’s historic main square. The government had said the assailant, a 24-year-old from the town of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in southeastern Poland, may have been inspired by far-right ideology, without providing further details. However, officials appeared to backtrack from the earlier comments as nationalist opposition politicians questioned the grounds on which the interior minister had said far-right ideology was the motive. “Until the matter is fully clarified and the authorities are in possession of complete information, it is best to refrain from making comments, even if there are some initial indications,” government spokesman Adam Szlapka told TVN24. Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said on Monday that despite the death of the shooter, the investigation will continue, aiming to establish if he acted alone or was inspired by any group. “Evidence is being collected, but I will not show or disclose it. I ask for restraint,” Zurek told Radio Zet. An interior ministry spokeswoman said earlier on Monday that there were many different emblems on the perpetrator’s clothing that had already been partially examined and interpreted.