KRAKOW: Six people were killed and 15 wounded when a gunman opened fire from a car in Krakow’s historic centre on Saturday afternoon, sending people fleeing from the city’s Main Market Square before police wounded and arrested him.
Four women and two men were killed. Two police officers were among the injured, with one critically wounded after being shot three times, Polish officials said.
Police identified the suspect as a Polish citizen and said no other known attacker remained at large. Authorities had not announced a motive or said whether they were treating the shooting as terrorism.
Shots fired from a car
Police began receiving reports shortly after 3pm local time that a man was firing at people from a vehicle near the square.
Local police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said the attacker wore military-style clothing and carried what she described as military weapons. Officers also recovered additional firearms and ammunition from his car.
The suspect was shot during a confrontation with police near the junction of Dietla and Stradomska streets, away from the initial scene. He survived and was taken to hospital.
Krakow’s municipal transport operator said a tram was also fired on at nearby Wszystkich Świętych Square. The driver’s cabin window was shattered, but neither the driver nor passengers were injured.
Authorities have not established publicly how the gunman obtained his weapons or whether they were legally owned. His clothing does not, by itself, establish any military affiliation.
Panic at a tourist landmark
The Main Market Square is at the heart of Krakow’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Poland’s best-known tourist destinations.
Witness accounts and footage shared online described scenes of panic as people sought shelter in surrounding streets, restaurants and cafes.
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“I saw shots being fired from the driver’s side window, and smoke was coming out,” a witness identified only as Konrad told news website Interia.
He said he ran into a nearby police station and found people sheltering on the floor.
Other footage showed emergency workers treating victims in the square. Some videos circulating online had not been independently verified.
Broadcaster Republika TV was in the area to cover an anti-government protest planned for Saturday. There was no established link between the planned demonstration and the shooting.
City authorities activated a crisis response team and urged residents and visitors to avoid areas where police and emergency personnel were working.
The victims’ names and nationalities had not been released.
Police praised for stopping the attacker
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski praised the officers who confronted the gunman, saying their intervention had brought the attack to an end.
“Police officers in Krakow intervened, risking their own lives. They acted immediately. Thanks to their heroic conduct, the assailant was quickly apprehended,” he said.
Kierwinski said one officer had suffered a gunshot wound, while another was in a critical condition with three gunshot wounds and was undergoing surgery.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk travelled to Krakow from Warsaw after receiving updates from the interior ministry. He said investigators were examining “the background and all the circumstances of the attack”.
President Karol Nawrocki expressed concern and offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
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US Ambassador Tom Rose described the shooting as a “savage and murderous attack”.
Gun ownership has risen sharply
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland, where firearm ownership requires a police-issued permit.
However, the number of permit holders and registered weapons has increased substantially in recent years.
Poland issued approximately 50,000 new gun permits in 2025, taking the total above 411,000, compared with about 235,000 in 2020.
The number of registered firearms passed one million last year, up from just over 380,000 in 2014, Polish Radio reported in February, citing Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Interest in shooting and self-defence grew after Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022. Lawmakers from the centrist Poland 2050 party have called for tighter eligibility requirements for gun ownership.
Investigators have not linked Saturday’s attack to those wider trends. Whether the suspect held a permit, and how he acquired the weapons found in his possession, remain important unanswered questions.
Investigation continues
The shooting comes less than three years after the December 2023 attack at Charles University in Prague, where a student killed 14 people in the Czech Republic’s deadliest mass shooting.
That attack was followed by tighter Czech gun legislation. In Poland, the immediate focus remains on treating the wounded, identifying the victims and establishing the gunman’s movements and motive.
Police say the suspect is in custody. For families waiting for news from hospitals, the consequences of the attack are still unfolding.
