Gunman fires from car in Kraków's Main Square, killing at least five
Shortly after 3pm local time on Saturday a man drove into Rynek Główny, the central square of Poland's second city, and opened fire. Police say five people died and around a dozen were wounded, two officers among them. Officers shot the gunman, who was taken to hospital.
A man drove into the Main Square in Kraków, Poland, shortly after 3pm on Saturday (2pm in Lisbon) and fired on the people there. City police put the toll at five dead and around a dozen wounded, as RTÉ reported from the police briefing. Some agencies are already counting six dead and 15 injured, a figure police had not confirmed.
Officers shot the gunman at the scene and he was taken to hospital. Two police officers are among the wounded.
What do we know about the Kraków shooting?
The car, which had no number plates, came into Rynek Główny from Sławkowska Street, according to the regional fire service spokesman. The shots came from inside the vehicle, at people crossing the square in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.
Rynek Główny is the city’s tourist heart, home to St Mary’s Basilica and the old Cloth Hall. An air ambulance landed on the square itself. Firefighters told people to leave the area and take cover while the operation went on.
Who is the suspect?
Authorities have not released a name or age. Poland’s public broadcaster says he is a Polish national. There is no word yet on a motive.
What did Tusk and Nawrocki say?
Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that the interior minister is keeping him briefed and that police are investigating “the background and all the circumstances of the attack”. Tusk, who has spent recent weeks in a standoff with the Constitutional Tribunal, now has a very different crisis at home.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński headed to Kraków to meet the security services. President Karol Nawrocki said he was deeply concerned and sent the head of the National Security Bureau to the city.
This is a developing story. The figures here are the ones police had confirmed by late afternoon.
Image: Scotch Mist / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
