Gunman opens fire in Polish city of Krakow, killing 6 people and injuring 16 others

KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — A far-right Pole walked into a busy central square in Krakow on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and wounding 15 others before police shot and wounded him, authorities said.

The attack, which Poland’s defense minister called a “terrorist act”, took place on the main square, the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.

The 25-year-old attacker drove to several locations in the square and opened fire at each stop with an automatic weapon, authorities said. Although his name was not released, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the man had “very radical” and “ultranationalist” views.

“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwiński said at a press conference.

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Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities found the bodies of three close members of the suspect’s family – two women and a man – inside his home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a town about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Krakow.

“We have the next acts of this tragedy,” Tusk told reporters.

Four women and two men were killed in the Krakow attack. At least three of the women were Polish and one of the victims was a British citizen, authorities said. Police were still trying to identify the other two people killed.

A total of 13 people were hospitalized in serious condition, authorities said, although that figure could include the shooter, who underwent surgery after the attack.

It is unclear how many injured people were shot. Two of them were treated and released hours after the mass shooting. Two police officers were seriously injured, Kierwiński said. Five non-Poles were also injured, police commander Marek Boroń said.

People were injured in several places

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

The attacker engaged in a “wild run” around the main square, which is why people were injured in several places, Cisło said, adding that the gunman appears to have acted alone.

Police vehicles block a street at the scene of a shooting near the main market square in Krakow, Poland, November 7, 2026. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/Reuters

Krakow Mayor Łukasz Gibała said the city would be in official mourning until Wednesday. He promised that Krakow would remain open to visitors despite the tragedy.

“The place will belong to us again,” Gibała said in a video posted on X.

Mass shootings are rare in Poland

Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people fleeing the square to hide in small neighboring streets, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate the victims. In one video, a police officer is seen shooting several times at the attacker, who was lying in the street, before slowly collapsing to the ground.

Photos showed a Polish medical air rescue helicopter after it landed in the square.

It was not immediately clear whether the weapon used in the attack or those 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.

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

The Krakow attacker’s military equipment, weapons and general appearance were similar to other “far-right lone actors” who have carried out attacks across Europe, said Kacper Rekawek, a senior researcher at the International Counter-Terrorism Center in The Hague. “We have had attempts before, but now we can say that this type of attack has been successful in Poland.”

Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along the main streets of the Polish capital’s Old Town, following the attack on Krakow.

Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland, and Dazio from Berlin.