Four women and two men have been killed and 16 others injured in a shooting in Krakow’s main market square, according to local authorities.
Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect was “shot and neutralised” by police and was in a serious condition in hospital, undergoing a second operation.
He added that early investigations indicated the gunman was inspired by “far-right ideologies” and seemingly had “very radical views”.
He also said there were “no reasons to believe” there was more than one attacker.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk later said two women and one man, likely members of the gunman’s family, were also found dead in his house.
Katarzyna Cisło, a spokesperson for the Krakow police, said the shooter, a 25-year-old Polish citizen, was wearing military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-type long gun in the attack.
Police confirmed one of the people killed in the mass shooting was a British citizen and officers found many other weapons, as well as ammunition, in his car.
He kept firing at the police even after being shot himself, she said.
Ms Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public was now safe.
Police privacy screens are installed in a cordoned-off area after the deadly shooting. (AP: Beata Zawrzel)
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, however, denied reports that the suspect of “this terrible act of terror” was a soldier.
“The man was not and is not a soldier in the Polish Armed Forces and has never had anything to do with the military,” he said during a press conference.
The gunman was aiming at random people as he drove into the Main Square, a major tourist destination in the centre of the city, Krakow police said.
The motive behind the attack remains unknown.
About 15 million tourists a year visit Krakow — Poland’s second largest city. The majority passes through the Main Square.
An ambulance helicopter at Krakow’s main market square. (Reuters: Jakub Włodek/Agencja Wyborcza)
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said one of the police officers injured in the shooting was in a “critical condition”.
In a post on X, he said the officer had suffered “three gunshot wounds” and was undergoing surgery.
Prime Minister Tusk is travelling to Krakow.
He described the shooting as “tragic” and said he was “being kept informed” about the situation.
“A heartfelt appeal to politicians of all stripes: do not exploit this tragedy,” he wrote on X.
“We will establish all the circumstances of this crime.“
Police secured the area, where authorities are investigating the incident. (Reuters: Jakub Włodek/Agencja Wyborcza)
Images from the scene showed police officers and ambulances covering the area, and a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter also landed in the square.
Krakow’s public transport provider MPK said one of its trams was also shot at from a car just after 3pm local time.
In a post on X, it said the window of the driver’s cab had been shattered, but no-one on the tram had been injured.
President Karol Nawrocki said he was “deeply concerned”.
Krakow’s Mayor Lukasz Gibala asked for “calm and responsibility”.
“Our thoughts are with the victims’ loved ones,” he wrote on X.
Chairs and pillows lie on the ground after a shooting. (Reuters: Jakub Porzycki)
The US ambassador to Poland has also shared his concern.
“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 wrote on X.
“America stands with Poland at this dark hour as Poland stands with her beloved citizens of Krakow.”
The European Commission’s vice-president Kaja Kallas said the shooting was a ‘tragedy”, adding that, “Poland does not stand alone”.
“The tragic loss of life in the shooting in Krakow is a tragedy that will be felt far beyond Poland,” the EU’s top diplomat said on X.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families and the first responders.”
Source: www.abc.net.au
