A gunman opened fire in the heart of Krakow on Saturday afternoon, turning the city’s historic Main Market Square into the scene of Poland’s deadliest peacetime shooting in recent memory. The Krakow Market Square attack killed six people — four women and two men — and injured 16 others, according to police.
Among the dead were three Polish nationals and one British citizen; two victims have not yet been publicly identified. The injured include five foreign nationals from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Britain, along with two Polish police officers. One officer was described as critically wounded, while the second was expected to recover.
Suspect's home yields three more bodies
Counter-terrorism officers who searched the suspect’s residence in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, roughly 200km from Krakow, discovered three additional bodies — two women and one man. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said there were strong indications that the three were immediate relatives of the suspect.
The suspect, a 25-year-old Polish man, was arrested after a pursuit and firefight with police. He remains in hospital following surgery. He was wearing military-style tactical gear and carrying military-grade weapons during the assault, though the government confirmed he was not a member of the Polish armed forces. Additional weapons and ammunition were later found in a car linked to him.
How the attack unfolded
The violence began shortly before 15:00 local time when the attacker drove into the crowded square, a major tourist destination. Witnesses described hearing loud bangs before realising they were gunshots, then seeing people flee in panic. Video footage showed the attacker’s vehicle speeding through the city centre as the sound of firing echoed. Shop windows were shattered by bullets, and a tram was struck. Police said the shooting lasted about three minutes.
Armed officers chased the suspect’s car until it crashed, then exchanged fire with him. Distressing footage verified by BBC Verify showed an injured police officer confronting the suspect on the ground before collapsing. Tusk later named the two wounded officers as Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Morański, praising them for saving many lives and calling them true heroes.
Far-right ideology cited
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said everything suggested the attacker was fascinated by far-right ideologies and held ultra-nationalist views. Tusk said Poland had not previously experienced such drastic cases of terrorism and described the assault as a cruel attack on human life. He vowed that any possible supporters of the perpetrator would be detained and appealed to the public for information.
A heavy armed police presence was deployed across Krakow on Saturday evening, and security measures were increased in Warsaw and other locations. A period of mourning has been declared in Krakow until 11 November.
Reaction from Britain and beyond
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was shocked and saddened by the appalling shooting and expressed solidarity with the people of Poland, while sending condolences to the families of those who died and to everyone affected. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK government deeply mourned those killed in what he called an appalling attack, and the Foreign Office updated its travel advice, urging people in the area to follow local authorities’ guidance.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the attack as a tragedy that would be felt far beyond Poland.
Witness accounts
Cezary, a 24-year-old university student in Krakow, said he did not realise the loud bangs were gunshots until he saw four bodies lying in the street. He described continuing gunfire and screaming, and said he saw someone attempting to resuscitate a blood-covered person on the ground.
Caitlin Shasby, a visitor from Newcastle in the UK, said she heard shooting from her hotel room and was told to take shelter inside as police barricaded the street. Another witness told Polish news outlet Inertia that shots came from the driver’s side window of a vehicle with smoke emerging, and that people were hiding on the floor of the main market square police station after the attack began.
The suspect’s name has not been confirmed. Polish authorities have not announced charges, and the investigation is continuing.
