Gunman in Car Kills Six, Injures 15 in Kraków Market Square

Six people were killed and 15 injured after a man in a car opened fire in the main market square of Kraków, a city in southern Poland, on Saturday afternoon. Officials said four of those killed were women and two were men.

Police said the attack took place at about 3pm local time (14:00 GMT), when a man drove into the square and began shooting at members of the public from inside the vehicle. Residents in nearby areas were initially told to move to safe locations.

Officials said the attacker acted alone and is a Polish citizen, a fact confirmed by the Interior Ministry. Police officers shot and wounded him, took him into custody and transferred him to hospital for treatment.

Kraków police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisowa said the attacker was wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest and was armed with a long-barrelled rifle. Several other weapons and a quantity of ammunition were also found in his car.

The attacker opened fire again during his arrest, wounding two police officers. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said one of them is in a critical condition.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that police are investigating the background to the attack and all the circumstances surrounding it. President Karol Nawrocki expressed sympathy with the victims and their families.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said that Poland is not alone. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed grief and solidarity.

Kraków lies about 250 kilometres south of Warsaw. With a population of more than 800,000, it is Poland’s second-largest city and a popular tourist destination.