Poland gunman had 'very radical' far-right views, says minister after deadly shooting

Six people were killed and 16 wounded after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, authorities said, in what Poland ’s defense minister called an “act of terror” on the people of the city.

Police officers and forensic investigators work near a cordoned-off area in the historic center of Krakow, Poland, (AFP)The suspect, a 25-year-old Polish citizen, opened fire with an automatic weapon in the city’s Main Square, a major tourist destination.

He was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held “very radical" and “ultra-nationalistic" views, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said at a news conference. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called Saturday’s fatal shooting an “act of terror” on the people of Krakow, Poland's second-largest city, which receives 15 million visitors a year, most of them passing through the Main Square.

Four women and two men were killed. Two police officers were wounded, one seriously, Kierwiński said. Thirteen of the 16 people injured were brought to the hospital with serious injuries, and one of them was a foreign citizen.

It was not immediately clear how many of the victims had suffered gunshot wounds, though two people had already been released from medical treatment within hours of the attack. The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said.

He was taken to the hospital for surgery. 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. The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around the Main Square, Cisło said, which is why people were wounded at several locations.

Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe. Krakow mayor Łukasz Gibała said the city will be in official mourning until Wednesday. He vowed that Krakow will remain open to visitors despite the tragedy.

“The square will belong to us again,” Gibała said in a video posted to X. 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. Animal rights group OTOZ Animals said the attacker also shot two horses. Both animals are alive, but one was grazed by a bullet and the other hit in the leg. White carriages drawn by horses are a main tourist attraction in the square.