Gunman Kills Six in Kraków’s Main Market Square, Polish Police Say
A gunman firing from a car killed at least six people and wounded 15 in Kraków's historic square, a rare mass shooting in Poland.
A gunman firing from a car killed at least six people and wounded at least 15 others in the Main Market Square of Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, on Saturday afternoon, according to Polish authorities. Police said the suspect, a Polish citizen who they believe acted alone, was shot and wounded by officers and taken into custody. Mass shootings are extremely rare in Poland, and the attack in one of Europe’s best-known tourist squares drew condolences from leaders across the continent and beyond.
What happened
At about 3 p.m. local time, a man drove into the Main Market Square, the large medieval plaza at the heart of Kraków’s old town, and “began firing at random people from his car,” local police said in a post on X, as reported by Al Jazeera. Video clips circulating on social media, described by NBC News, showed a black sedan speeding through the square as dozens of people ran in different directions, and emergency responders trying to save the wounded.
Katarzyna Cisło, a spokesperson for the Kraków police, told the Polish broadcaster TVN24 that the suspect wore military-style fatigues and used a military-type long gun, CBS News and NBC News reported. Police later found other weapons and ammunition in his car, according to both outlets.
The suspect was shot in a confrontation with police a short distance from where the attack began, CBS News reported. Al Jazeera, citing a police spokesperson, said he returned fire during the arrest. He was taken to a hospital. Authorities have not publicly identified him or given a motive.
Victims and casualty figures
The death toll rose during the afternoon. The regional government of Małopolska, the province that includes Kraków, first reported five deaths before updating the count to six in a post on X, CBS News reported. Kraków police said the dead were four women and two men. At least 15 people were wounded, though some outlets, including NBC News, initially described the number of injured as at least a dozen.
Police officers were among the injured. Marcin Kierwiński, Poland’s interior minister, wrote on X that two officers had been wounded by gunfire and that one was in serious condition; Al Jazeera described that officer’s condition as critical. “Police officers in Kraków risked their lives to intervene. Immediately,” Kierwiński wrote, according to CBS News. Małopolska police said reports that an officer had been killed were incorrect, NBC News reported.
One video described by NBC News appeared to show a wounded officer firing at the suspect, then dropping to his knees while clutching his right arm and struggling to reload.
Reaction at home and abroad
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was in Warsaw when the shooting began, traveled to Kraków, a government spokesperson said. On social media, Tusk called it a “tragic shooting” and said police were investigating “the background and all the circumstances of the attack.”
Other officials and foreign leaders quickly responded:
- Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s president, said his thoughts were with the victims and their families, Al Jazeera reported.
- Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, said he was receiving condolences from counterparts around the world.
- Tom Rose, the US ambassador to Poland, called it a “horrific mass shooting” and wrote that America “stands with Poland at this dark hour.”
- Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said Poland “does not stand alone.”
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of neighboring Ukraine, called the attack “a shocking crime,” according to Al Jazeera.
A woman in her sixties who gave her name as Annette told the French news agency AFP, as cited by CBS News: “It’s a tragedy for Krakow; we’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Why it matters
Kraków, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Warsaw, is one of Poland’s main cultural centers and draws around 15 million visitors a year, according to Al Jazeera. Its Main Market Square, lined with historic churches, cafes and the Renaissance-era Cloth Hall, is usually crowded with tourists and residents, especially on weekends.
Poland, a European Union and NATO member of about 38 million people, rarely experiences mass shootings. The attack came as the country was already on alert after a series of stabbings in October, which Tusk had denounced as a “cult of violence,” Al Jazeera reported.
What comes next
Investigators are expected to focus on the suspect’s background, how he obtained the weapons found in his car, and whether there was any motive beyond what police have described as a random attack. Officials have said they believe he acted alone. Early casualty counts shifted through the day, and authorities cautioned that details may change as the investigation continues and the condition of the wounded becomes clearer.
