Gunman opens fire in Polish city, killing 6 people and injuring 15

KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — Six people were killed and 15 wounded after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, Poland, authorities said.

The gunman, a 24-year-old Polish citizen, aimed at random people as he drove into the Main Square, a major tourist destination in the center of the city, Krakow police said. Four women and two men were killed. Two police officers were wounded, one seriously, Poland’s interior minister said on X.

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 the hospital for surgery. The death toll earlier stood at five, but police updated it to six in a post on X.

Katarzyna Cisło, a spokesperson for the Krakow police, said the perpetrator was wearing military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-type long gun in the attack. 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.

Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe.

The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around the Main Square, Cisło 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 policeman is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse himself to the ground.

Photos showed a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter after it landed in the square.

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.

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.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a post on X, praised the police officers who responded to Saturday’s tragedy. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded and their families.

A tram driver reported around 3 p.m. 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 a year visit Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city, the majority passing through the Main Square.

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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland and Dazio reported from Berlin.