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Six Killed as Gunman Opens Fire in Krakow Main SquareWorld
A gunman drove into Krakow’s Main Square and fired at random passers-by on Saturday, killing six people and wounding 15 before police shot and detained him.
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Six people were killed and 15 others wounded on Saturday afternoon when a gunman drove a car into Krakow’s Main Square and opened fire on passers-by at random, Polish police said. The attack, in one of Europe’s busiest tourist squares, ended when officers shot and wounded the gunman a short distance away and took him into custody.
Police said the shooting began at about 3pm local time, when a man drove onto the square — known locally as Rynek Glowny — and started firing from inside his vehicle at people in the crowded square. Four women and two men were killed. The injured included two police officers, one of them seriously hurt, according to Poland’s interior minister.
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The suspect, a Polish citizen in his twenties, was wearing military-style clothing and was carrying a military-type long gun, a police spokesperson told the broadcaster TVN24. Officers returned fire as they moved in to arrest him, and the man was taken to hospital under guard. Police said he had acted alone and denied reports that a second attacker was being sought.
The death toll was revised upwards through the evening: police first reported five dead before confirming that a sixth victim had died of his injuries. Emergency services remained at the scene for hours, and the square — the heart of Krakow’s old town and a magnet for visitors from around the world — was cordoned off as investigators worked through the area.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said police were investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack, and that he was being kept informed by the interior ministry. The city’s mayor declared a period of mourning until 11 November.
Rare gun violence in Poland
The shooting shocked a country where gun violence on this scale is rare. Poland, like most European Union countries, has strict rules on owning firearms, and very few people are allowed to carry a gun in public. Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city and its former royal capital, draws millions of visitors a year to its medieval old town, and its Main Square is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
Police have not yet said anything about a possible motive, and the investigation was continuing on Saturday night, with the suspect in hospital and the square still sealed off. Officers appealed for witnesses and for anyone with photographs or video of the attack to come forward.
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