Małopolska police have released a detailed account of how quickly officers responded to Saturday's deadly shooting in central Kraków, saying the pursuit of the armed attacker lasted only 123 seconds. In a statement posted on X on Sunday, the force said just over two minutes passed between the moment the first patrol began chasing the gunman and the events on ul. Dietla, where he was stopped. The attack, which took place shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday, 7 November, left six people dead and more than a dozen injured, according to WP Wiadomości.
Why it matters
The timeline is the clearest official account yet of how the emergency response unfolded, and it comes as police push back against a wave of online claims questioning whether officers acted quickly enough. The force used its statement to appeal for the public to rely on verified facts rather than speculation, a sign of how contested the narrative around the attack has become.
What police say happened
According to the account reported by WP Wiadomości, a masked 24-year-old man drove a car onto the Main Square and opened fire on people at random. He then moved through the city centre streets, attacking further victims.
The first call about the shooting reached the regional emergency dispatch centre at 15:00:15. Nearly 40 calls were logged in total, and 30 police patrols were sent to the area. Officers arrived in the third minute after that first report, exchanged fire with the attacker and gave chase. He was eventually detained near the junction of ul. Stradomska and ul. Dietla.
In its statement, police stressed that the officers acted under immediate threat to life. They said the patrols showed courage and professionalism and did not hesitate to confront an armed man, putting themselves at risk to protect others. The force also urged the public to base their understanding on facts rather than conjecture.
Among those hurt were police officers who took direct action against the gunman. The injured, including people needing urgent care, were taken to hospitals.
Disinformation spreads after the attack
The shooting was followed quickly by a surge of false and unverified claims online, WP Wiadomości reports. Some accounts linked to right-wing and anti-government circles spread messages casting doubt on the police response, including suggestions that officers arrived too late or were not present at the scene at all.
According to the outlet, Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of Telewizja Republika, echoed that line during a broadcast from Kraków, suggesting officers may have been absent because reserves had been sent to Warsaw. WP Wiadomości notes that a plainclothes officer wearing a visible police emblem was standing behind him at the time.
Other false reports claimed a link between the attacker and the Ukrainian or Polish military, and some said a second gunman was on the roof of St Mary's Basilica. WP Wiadomości reports that some of this material was circulated by pro-Russian and anti-government accounts.
The police statement on Sunday should be read in that context, the outlet reports: the force is reminding the public that during events of this kind, verified information and official service communications matter most.
The investigation in Kraków continues, and police have said they will keep publishing details of the case.
