Six Killed, 15 Injured in Shooting in Krakow Main Market Square, Police Say

Updated 20:13 UTC

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski told a press conference in Krakow that the suspect was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held "very radical views", the Press Association reported. The Press Association said the suspect is a 25-year-old Polish citizen who opened fire with an automatic weapon, and put the injured count at at least 16; Polish police and the Malopolska regional government office have confirmed 15 injured. Police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said the attacker went on a "wild ride" around the Main Square, which is why people were wounded at several locations, and that he kept firing at police even after he was shot himself. A tram driver reported that his vehicle was shot at near the square and the window of the driver's cabin was shattered, the Krakow municipal transport company said. Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along main streets in the old town of the capital. President Karol Nawrocki has begun the formal process to declare national mourning on Sunday, November 8 and Monday, November 9, his spokesperson Rafal Leskiewicz said, according to Energy Radio and LADbible reporting.

Updated 17:44 UTC

Police have raised the toll to six people killed and 15 injured. Four women and two men were killed, police said. The suspect is a Polish citizen and was the only perpetrator, police said, denying reports that a second person was being sought. Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo told TVN24 the man wore military-style fatigues and used a military-type long gun, and police found other weapons and ammunition in his car. A police spokesperson said the man returned fire during his arrest, and two police officers are among the injured. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said one injured officer was in a very critical condition after being shot three times, The Sun reported. Prime Minister Donald Tusk sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and praised the police officers who intervened. President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the injured and their families, and Bartosz Grodecki, head of the National Security Bureau, travelled to Krakow. US Ambassador Tom Rose called the shooting a savage and murderous attack and said America stands with Poland.

Six people were killed and 15 were injured in a shooting in the Main Market Square in Krakow on Saturday, Polish police said. The shooting happened in the centre of Poland's second largest city, in a square that draws large crowds of residents and visitors.

What police said happened

Malopolska Police said a man drove onto the square at around 3:00 p.m. local time and began firing at random people from his car. "A police operation is under way in Krakow's Main Market Square," police said in a statement. "At around 3pm, a man who had driven onto the square began firing at random people from his car."

"The perpetrator was shot by police officers and is currently being taken to hospital," the statement said. The suspect was arrested, The Times reported. Emergency services were still working at the scene after the shooting, police said. The City of Krakow said shots were fired in the Main Market Square, emergency services were on the scene, and police were also carrying out an operation on Dietla Street.

The toll rose through the afternoon

The first wire reports gave a lower count. Reuters reported that two people were killed and at least 10 were injured, citing TVN24 and the fire brigade. Krakow fire service spokesman Captain Hubert Cieply told local media the same early figures, two people dead and 10 injured, including two police officers. Polish police later said at least five people had been killed and about a dozen were injured. CNN reported the updated police figure, and The Times also reported five people killed and a dozen injured. Police later raised the toll again, to six killed and 15 injured, and said four women and two men were among the dead.

A fire service spokesperson told Polsat News the gunman fired from a passing car, Reuters reported in its first account. The Sun reported that emergency services, including an air ambulance helicopter, attended the scene. Police have not released the suspect's name in the reports reviewed, and no motive had been announced at that stage.

Investigation under way

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was being updated by the interior ministry. "I am being kept informed by the Minister of the Interior about the situation in Krakow following the tragic shooting," Tusk said. "The police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack."

The Krakow municipal government said deaths and injuries were reported after shots were fired in the square on Saturday. This is a developing story. The Orbit Post will update this article in place as police confirm more facts.