Six killed as gunman opens fire from a car in Krakow’s Main Market Square

Six people have been killed and 16 wounded after a man opened fire from a car in the Main Market Square of Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city, on Saturday afternoon. Police searching the suspect’s home later found three more people dead: two women and a man who, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, are believed to be members of the suspect’s immediate family. Their deaths have not been formally linked to the gunman, and police have not said how or when they died.

Late on Saturday the Polish president’s office said it had begun the formal process to declare national mourning on Sunday 8 and Monday 9 November, and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the shooting an act of terror against residents and tourists.

The shooting began at about 3pm local time (10pm AWST) in the square, the historic heart of the old town and one of the busiest tourist areas in Europe. Police said a man in military-style clothing drove onto the square from the Sławkowska Street side and fired at people at random, then turned his fire on people running from another part of the square.

At about 6pm local time (1am AWST Sunday), the governor of the Lesser Poland region, Jan Klęczar, said six people had died, correcting an earlier police count of five. He said 12 of the wounded were in a life-threatening condition.

Who is the suspect?

Police said the man was shot by officers about 1.5 kilometres from the square, near the corner of Stradomska and Józefa Dietla streets, at about 4pm local time. Police said officers fired at him and he fired back. He was wounded, detained and taken to hospital.

Krakow police said he is a Polish citizen and acted alone. A police spokesperson, Katarzyna Cisło, said he was carrying a military-type long gun, and that officers found a large quantity of other weapons and ammunition in his car.

Early in the evening a city police spokesperson said there had been two attackers. Regional police later denied that any second suspect was being sought, saying: “The only known perpetrator of the incident is in police custody.” Police also denied reports that an officer had died.

The man has not been named, and no charge or motive has been announced. Prosecutors are at the scene, Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek said.

Later on Saturday, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said authorities were examining reports that the man was fixated on far-right ideologies, and described his views as “very radical”. The man was in serious condition and undergoing surgery in hospital.

How many people were hurt?

A regional police update at 5.31pm local time said 15 people had been wounded, three of them police officers. Later in the evening Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński put the number of wounded at 16. He said one officer had a gunshot wound and another had been shot three times, was in very serious condition and was undergoing surgery.

The city’s transport company said one of its trams was shot at from a moving car near the square, shattering a window in the driver’s cabin.

An air ambulance helicopter landed in the square as police, paramedics and city guards secured the area. Residents and tourists were told to stay away from the old town.

No information has been released on the nationalities of the dead and wounded.

What has the government said?

Mr Tusk said he was being briefed by the interior minister and called the shooting an attack. He thanked police, urged politicians not to exploit the tragedy, and was flying to Krakow. Mr Kierwiński was also travelling to the city.

President Karol Nawrocki offered his sympathy to the victims and their families and said he expected the attack to be fully explained. The head of his National Security Bureau was travelling to Krakow. His spokesperson, Rafał Leśkiewicz, said the president had started the procedure to declare national mourning on 8 and 9 November; the draft decree goes to Mr Tusk for his countersignature.

Mr Kosiniak-Kamysz, speaking to reporters a few hours after the shooting, called it an attack and an act of terror aimed at the city’s residents and tourists. He rejected claims that the gunman was a soldier, saying the man had no connection to the Polish Armed Forces, and asked people not to spread unverified information.

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said foreign ministers around the world had sent condolences. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also sent his condolences, and the United States ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, wrote: “America stands with Poland at this dark hour.”

Krakow’s mayor, Łukasz Gibała, set up a crisis team at city hall. The city declared a period of mourning until Wednesday 11 November and said it would stay open.

Why has this shaken Poland?

Mass shootings are rare in Poland. Krakow, about 250 kilometres south of Warsaw, draws around 15 million visitors a year, and most of them pass through the Main Market Square, home to the Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica.

Police have not said what drove the attack. The shooting has been reported across Polish, European and international media.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.