A gunman drove onto Kraków's central Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon and fired at people in the street, leaving six dead and 15 wounded, according to Polish police cited by tagesschau.de. The suspect, a 24-year-old Polish citizen, was taken into custody. Among the injured are three police officers, and twelve of the 15 wounded are in critical or life-threatening condition, the Lesser Poland regional authorities said.
The attack began at around 3 p.m., when the man entered the square — known in Polish as the Rynek Główny — by car and opened fire indiscriminately on passers-by, officials said. Authorities urged people in the surrounding area to move to a safe place. Footage circulating on social media showed a rescue helicopter landing on the square, and witnesses described widespread confusion at the scene.
Why it matters
The shooting struck the historic heart of Poland's second-largest city, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the country's most visited destinations. Kraków has more than 800,000 residents, and its Old Town draws tourists from around the world; the Main Market Square, Wawel Castle and the cathedral are among its best-known landmarks. An attack in such a crowded, symbolic public space — on a Saturday afternoon — raised immediate questions about security at major gathering places in Poland.
Arrest after a chase and an exchange of fire
According to the news channel TVN24, prosecutors said the detained man is a 24-year-old Polish national. Kraków police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo told the broadcaster that the suspect wore military-style clothing and fired a long weapon of the kind used by the armed forces. Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stressed on X that the man is not a member of the Polish army.
The Polish news agency PAP, citing a press photographer, reported that the suspect collided with another car at an intersection while fleeing. He then jumped out of his vehicle and shot at responding officers, who returned fire before detaining him and having him taken to a hospital. Police found numerous parts of other weapons and ammunition in his car, according to the same account.
Government response and a call to keep politics out
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was being kept continuously informed of the situation in Kraków. "The police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the incident," the liberal-conservative leader wrote on X. He issued an urgent appeal to politicians across the political spectrum not to turn the tragedy into "an instrument of political games." Tusk and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński have both set off for Kraków, according to government statements.
The authorities have not yet said anything about a possible motive. What happens next will hinge on the investigation into the suspect's background and how he obtained his weapons, and on whether the government announces new security measures for large public events and crowded city centres.
