The key facts

  • The attacker fired from a car on the Main Market Square in Kraków; five people were killed and more than ten wounded, including police officers
  • The shooter used a self-loading rifle of the AR-15/M4 family and was dressed in Polish camouflage uniform
  • Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the police are establishing the motives and circumstances of the attack

What happened in Kraków

On the evening of November 7, in central Kraków near the Main Market Square, an armed man opened fire on passers-by. According to Gazeta.Ru, at around 15:00 local time a man wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest drove a black car onto the central square and fired at people there directly from the vehicle, then tried to flee. During his arrest he resisted the police and was wounded, after which he was hospitalized in custody. According to Gazeta Krakowska, the attacker used a self-loading rifle of the AR-15/M4 family, while the portal LoveKrakow , citing unofficial information, reports that he was dressed in Polish camouflage uniform and that a police officer fired seven shots at him.

Victims and the authorities' response

Reports differ on the number of casualties: the spokeswoman for Poland's Ministry of Internal Affairs, Karolina Gałecka, reported five dead and more than ten wounded, whereas Gazeta.Ru, in a later publication, writes about at least 12 people injured. Among the wounded are police officers. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on the social network X that he is receiving timely information from the Minister of Internal Affairs about the situation in Kraków: 'The police are investigating the motives and all the circumstances of this attack.' He also expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to the wounded. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński travelled to Kraków to personally coordinate the investigative actions.

The attacker's fate

The shooter, wounded during his arrest, was taken to hospital and operated on; he is currently, according to available information, in stable condition. The attacker tried to escape by car but crashed into another vehicle. The police had not named the motive for the attack at the time of publication — determining it, according to the Prime Minister, is part of the investigation.