The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of Wierzbowa Street and Kaczyńskiego Avenue, near a funeral home. At one point, a 38-year-old victim got out of a BMW passenger car. The suspect, Michał W., stopped his Mercedes behind him. He got out of the vehicle and ran after the victim, firing at least five shots in his direction from a handgun.

The victim was hit by four bullets. They struck his torso and left arm, causing, among other injuries, a comminuted fracture of the metacarpal bone. One bullet hit an Opel passing by at the time. The driver suffered no injuries.

The perpetrator fled the scene, while random bystanders drove the victim to hospital. After being treated, the man left for home at his own request. He sustained injuries resulting in a health disorder lasting more than seven days. He was questioned by the police. Investigators are not disclosing the contents of his testimony for the sake of the investigation.

The police promptly identified the perpetrator. He was arrested just an hour later.

Michał W. was charged with attempted murder of the victim—under recidivism conditions—and exposing the Opel driver to an immediate risk of loss of life or serious bodily harm. W. did not admit to committing the crime and refused to give explanations.

The prosecutor, who personally conducted the inspection of the scene, filed a motion with the court for Michał W.’s temporary detention, and on 25 May the court ordered three months of detention.

Michał W. had previously been convicted numerous times of serious crimes. He spent a total of 14 years in prison. Most recently, in 2008, he was sentenced by the Wrocław Regional Court for offences committed in 2004, including a robbery using a dangerous weapon against a courier of a freight forwarding company, an assault during which he injured the victim with a knife, and exerting influence on a witness. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. He served the full sentence. He left prison in September 2014.

The proceedings are ongoing.

Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the Legnica District Prosecutor’s Office/ii