Gunman opens fire from car in Krakow’s main square, killing six people

CRACOW, Poland (AP) — Six people were killed and 15 others injured after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, Polandauthorities said.

The shooter, a 24-year-old Polish citizen, targeted people at random as he walked toward the main square, a major tourist destination in the country. the center of the cityKrakow police said. Four women and two men were killed. Two police officers were injured, one seriously, the Polish Interior Minister said on X.

The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a shootout with police a short distance from the scene of the initial violence, police said, and was taken to a hospital for surgery. The death toll previously stood at five, but police updated it to six in a post on X.

Katarzyna Cisło, a Krakow police spokeswoman, said the attacker wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-style long gun in the attack. Police found numerous other weapons, as well as ammunition, in his car. He continued shooting at police even after he himself was shot, she said.

The attacker went on a “wild ride” around the main square, Cisło said, which is why people were injured in several places. Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people fleeing the square to hide in small neighboring streets.

Cisło added that the shooter acted alone and that the public was safe.

It was not immediately clear whether the firearm used in Saturday’s attack, or the weapons found in the attacker’s car, were legal. About 411,000 people hold firearms licenses in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership is growing.

Mass shootings are rare in Poland. However, by mid-October three attacks in schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four daysleaving one dead and many injured, including children.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tuskin a post on X, congratulated the police officers who responded to Saturday’s tragedy. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the injured and their families.

Footage from the scene showed police and ambulances covering the area, and a Polish medical air rescue helicopter also landed at the square.

Around 3 p.m., a tram driver reported that his vehicle had been shot at by a man in a moving car as he passed near the main square, the Krakow Municipal Transport Company said. The window of the tram driver’s cabin was broken.

Around 15 million tourists visit Krakow every yearthe second largest city in Poland, with the majority passing through the main square.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland and Dazio from Berlin.