EU Lowers Flags for Kraków as Poland Begins National Mourning

The European Commission lowered the EU flags outside its Brussels headquarters on Sunday in solidarity with Poland after Saturday's deadly attack in central Kraków. The European Parliament and other EU institutions also lowered flags as tributes arrived from across Europe.

Six people were killed and 16 others were injured, including the suspect, after a 24-year-old Polish citizen drove a car into Kraków's Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon and opened fire on people nearby, according to the Polish government. Two police officers were seriously injured during the response.

Police shot and arrested the suspect. Polish prosecutors have opened a terrorism investigation, while government officials said the man held far-right and ultranationalist views. Investigators have not yet announced a final determination of motive.

Three other people were found dead at the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyskie. Police subsequently identified them as his parents and sister. Their deaths are being examined as a separate part of the investigation.

This is foremost a national tragedy, not another Brussels policy dispute. The attack struck one of Europe's best-known public squares on a busy Saturday afternoon, killing six people and leaving families, survivors and emergency workers facing a traumatic aftermath.

For readers outside Poland, the official language matters: prosecutors are investigating the attack as a terrorist offence, and officials have described the suspect's ideological views. That is not the same as a completed finding about motivation or possible accomplices. Those questions remain with the Polish investigation.

The half-mast flags are the EU's institutional expression of collective mourning. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said they honoured the victims and first responders, adding: "Stronger than hatred. Stronger than extremism." European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the Parliament stood with Poland in grief.

The gesture does not announce an EU investigation or a new security measure. Polish police and prosecutors remain in charge of establishing what happened, while EU institutions are expressing solidarity with a member state in mourning.

Poland is observing national mourning on November 8 and 9 under a decree signed by President Karol Nawrocki. National flags are being flown at half-mast, while broadcasters and publishers have been asked to reflect the solemnity of the period.

Kraków has declared municipal mourning through November 11. Events organised by the city, municipal bodies and city-owned companies have been cancelled, including city-run Independence Day events.

Prosecutors are continuing to establish the sequence of the attack, the circumstances of the three deaths at the suspect's home and whether anyone else was involved. Further confirmed details are expected through official police and prosecution updates.