Gunman Kills Six in Kraków's Main Market Square Before Police Shoot Him

A gunman drove into Kraków's Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon and opened fire on people in the street, killing at least five and wounding more than a dozen before police shot him in a gunfight a short distance away. By early evening the regional government had raised the death toll to six and the number of wounded to 15. Police say the attacker was a Polish citizen, and that he acted alone. TVN24 reported he is 25.

Gunman Kills Six in Kraków's Main Market Square Before Police Shoot Him

KRAKOW, Poland — The shooting began shortly after three in the afternoon, in the square that most of the 15 million tourists who visit Kraków each year pass through. It ended with two police officers wounded, one of them on an operating table, and the city's central square sealed off behind tape.

A Saturday Afternoon, and Gunfire in the Main Square

Emergency services reached the square within minutes of the first calls. The Kraków newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza counted at least four ambulances, several police cars and municipal police units on the scene, and a helicopter from the Polish Medical Air Rescue landed on the paving itself. BBC News reported from the square that it had been cordoned off and that officers were turning people away. The city of Kraków posted on X: "Shots were fired in the Main Market Square. Emergency services are already on the scene. Police are also conducting an operation on Dietla Street." The fire service asked residents and tourists not to come to the Rynek, and told anyone already nearby to move to a safe place until police said otherwise. Nothing about the square looked unusual until it did.

What Police Say Happened at 15:03

The fire service's regional spokesman, Captain Hubert Ciepły, told the Polish Press Agency that the shots came from a car travelling from the direction of Sławkowska Street at 15:03 local time. Małopolska Police said on X that at around 15:00 a man who had driven onto the square began "firing at random people from his car". Wirtualna Polska reported that he then fired at a number 1 tram at Plac Wszystkich Świętych, shattering the window of the driver's cabin. The Kraków municipal transport company said a tram driver had reported around 3 p.m. that his vehicle was shot at by a man in a moving car as it passed near the main square. Katarzyna Cisło, a spokeswoman for Kraków police, told TVN24 the victims were "completely random people" who happened to be in the square.

The Gunfight at Dietla and Stradomska

The attacker was stopped at the junction of Dietla and Stradomska streets, a few blocks from where the shooting began. Cisło said officers fired at him and he returned fire at them, and that he was wounded, detained and taken to one of Kraków's hospitals, where he was held under strict supervision. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said one wounded officer was in "very critical condition" with three gunshot wounds and that surgery was under way, and confirmed a second officer had also been shot. "Police officers in Krakow risked their lives to intervene. Immediately. Thanks to their heroic actions, the attacker was quickly apprehended." Kierwiński wrote those words on X. The fire-service portal Remiza.pl described one officer who, it said, kept fighting after being hit and only collapsed once he was sure the danger had passed.

A 25-Year-Old Polish Citizen in Military Clothing

Małopolska Police confirmed the detained man is a Polish citizen, and TVN24 reported he is 25. Cisło said he was dressed in military-style clothing and used a military-type long weapon, and that officers recovered a very large number of other firearms and ammunition from his car. Wirtualna Polska reported he wore a camouflage jacket, and Newsweek Polska that he wore a helmet. Cisło told TVN24 the weapon "could have been a semi-automatic AR-15 carbine" — a description offered as a possibility, not a finding. Wirtualna Polska, citing service findings, reported he travelled in a black Subaru carrying registration plates from Ostrowiec County in the Świętokrzyskie region. Police said they had established his identity but have released no name, and no charge has been announced. The Associated Press reported that Cisło told TVN24 he acted alone and that the public was safe.

The Second Attacker Who Was Not There

For roughly half an hour on Saturday evening, Poland was told to look for a second gunman. Just after 17:00 local time, Małopolska Police said the attack had most likely been carried out by two assailants, and the Kraków city police command said initial information pointed to two perpetrators. Within tens of minutes the regional command withdrew it. In a statement published at 17:35, police said: "The perpetrator of the incident at the Main Market Square in Kraków is a citizen of the Republic of Poland. We deny the information about the death of a police officer and about the search for another perpetrator. The only known perpetrator of the incident is in the hands of the police." The same statement killed a second rumour that had been circulating — that an officer had died. BBC News reported the denial at 16:50 GMT. In a live manhunt, half an hour is a long time.

A Toll That Kept Moving: Two, Then Five, Then Six

The numbers moved all afternoon, and each move came from a different authority counting a different thing. Early reports, relayed by Polsat News and the BBC, put it at two dead and 10 injured on the word of the fire service. At 15:22 GMT Małopolska Police announced five dead and around a dozen wounded, including officers. Then, before 18:00 local time, the Małopolska Voivodeship Office said it could confirm six dead and 15 injured, adding that the wounded were "under the care of doctors at Kraków hospitals". The Associated Press flashed the same figures. The count of wounded officers also splits: police and the interior minister say two officers were shot, while Newsweek Polska, forsal.pl and Rzeczpospolita put three officers among the injured. None of these figures is final.

Tusk Calls It an Attack, and Tells Politicians to Stay Out

Prime Minister Donald Tusk used a loaded word, twice. In his first post on X he said he was "being kept informed by the Minister of the Interior about the situation in Kraków following the tragic shooting", and that "the police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack". In a second post he wrote: "Deep condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic attack in Kraków." He added: "The highest words of recognition for the heroic policemen who acted risking their lives. And a hot appeal to politicians of all stripes: do not play with this tragedy. We will establish all the circumstances of this crime." Rzeczpospolita noted he had used the Polish word "zamach" — an attack, in the sense of an attempt — both times. Television station TVN24 reported before 18:00 that the prime minister was on his way to the city.

Kraków, Fifteen Million Visitors, and One Square

Kraków is Poland's second-largest city, roughly 250 kilometres, or 155 miles, from Warsaw, and its Main Market Square is the point most visitors reach first — the Associated Press describes it as a busy market square and a major tourist destination in the centre of the city. It puts the number of tourists arriving each year at around 15 million, the majority of whom pass through the square. The Associated Press also noted that mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. On Saturday the ordinary machinery of a working city — trams, ambulances, a rescue helicopter setting down on the square's paving — became the picture of the story. Mayor Łukasz Gibała said a crisis staff was operating at the city hall, and the fire service kept repeating its instruction to stay away from the Rynek. A square built for crowds had to be emptied.

The President, the Security Bureau, and the American Ambassador

President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded and their families, and that he was in contact with the relevant services and expected a full explanation. Bartosz Grodecki, head of the President's National Security Bureau, said what mattered now was "aid to the injured, the safety of residents and a reliable explanation of the circumstances", offered his condolences, and said he was travelling to Kraków while staying in constant contact with Nawrocki. Interior Minister Kierwiński was also on his way; ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka told the Polish Press Agency that a briefing with the services would be held on site. From Washington's embassy in Warsaw, Ambassador Tom Rose wrote that the shooting was "a savage and murderous attack that's shattered the peace of Poland", and that "America stands with Poland at this dark hour".

What Is Not Known, and What Must Not Be Said

No motive has been given. forsal.pl reported plainly that the perpetrator's motive had not been officially stated, and police said they were establishing what exactly happened in the centre of Kraków. No name has been released, no charge has been announced, and no authority has designated the shooting as terrorism — the word "zamach" is the prime minister's characterisation, not a legal finding. The weapon has not been confirmed as an AR-15; the police spokeswoman offered that as a possibility. Whether the guns were held legally has not been stated. Police deny a second attacker and deny that an officer died. The death toll stands at six as of Saturday evening, and in a story like this the next official statement is the only one that counts.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Associated Press, BBC News, Al Jazeera (AFP, AP and Reuters), TVN24, Gazeta Wyborcza, Gazeta.pl, Newsweek Polska, Wirtualna Polska, Rzeczpospolita, forsal.pl, wnp.pl, Onet, Remiza.pl, Polsat News, and statements from Małopolska Police, the Małopolska Voivodeship Office and the Polish Press Agency. Cover: Global 1 News editorial image. Photographs: Gazeta.pl; Jakub Włodek/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters; Omar Marques/Getty Images.