Suspect in Krakow shooting that killed six ‘fascinated with far-right views’
The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said. Picture: Beata Zawrzel/AP
Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwinski said the suspect in Saturday’s fatal shooting in Krakow was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held “very radical views”.
The suspect, a 25-year-old Polish citizen, opened fire with an automatic weapon in the city’s Main Square, leaving six people dead and at least 16 injured, authorities said.
The gunman aimed at random people as he drove by the city’s Main Square, a major tourist destination, Krakow police said. Police officers are among the wounded.
Four women and two men were killed.
The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said, and was taken to hospital for surgery.
Katarzyna Cislo, a spokesperson for the Krakow police, told TVN24 that the perpetrator was wearing military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and he used a military-type long gun in the attack.
The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around the Main Square, Ms Cislo said, which is why people were wounded at several locations. Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims.
In one of the videos, a police officer is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse himself to the ground.
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Police found many other weapons, as well as ammunition, in his car.
He kept firing at the police even after being shot himself, she said. Ms Cislo added that the gunman acted alone.
Mr Kierwinski wrote on X that two police officers were wounded by gunfire and one is in a serious condition.
Images from the scene showed police officers and ambulances covering the area, which is in the centre of Krakow. A Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter also landed in the square.
A spokesperson for the local firefighters told Polsat News that the perpetrator fired a gun from a passing car.
A tram driver reported around 3pm that his vehicle was shot at from a man in a moving car while passing nearby the main square, the Krakow municipal transport company said. The window to the tram driver’s cabin was shattered.
Around 15 million tourists visit Krakow annually, the majority passing through the Main Square.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children.
It was not immediately clear whether the firearm used in Saturday’s attack, or the guns found in the perpetrator’s car, were legal. Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a post on X, said police are investigating the attack. He praised the police officers who responded to Saturday’s tragedy.
And Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded and their families.
“We are just learning details of the horrific mass shooting in Krakow, a savage and murderous attack that’s shattered the peace of Poland,” Tom Rose, the US ambassador to Poland, wrote on X.
“America stands with Poland at this dark hour as Poland stands with her beloved citizens of Krakow.” Krakow is the second-largest city in Poland and roughly 250km (155 miles) from the capital, Warsaw.
Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along main streets in the old town in the Polish capital in the aftermath of the Krakow attack.
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