Gunman opens fire in Krakow, Poland, killing 5 people and injuring 12

Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, Poland, police said.

The gunman aimed at random people as he drove into the Main Square, a major tourist destination in the center of the city, Krakow police said. Police officers are among the wounded.

The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said.

Katarzyna Cisło, a spokesperson for the Krakow police, told TVN24 that the perpetrator was wearing military-style fatigues and he used a military-type long gun in the attack. Police found many pieces of other weapons, as well as ammunition, in his car.

Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe. Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland.

Images from the scene showed police officers and ambulances covering the area, which is in the center of Krakow. A Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter also landed in the square.

A tram driver reported around 3 p.m. that his vehicle was shot at by a man in a moving car while passing near 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.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X that police are investigating the attack. 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 U.S. 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 Poland’s second-largest city and roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the capital, Warsaw.