A car broke into the Market Square, the main square of the Polish city of Krakow, this Saturday around three in the afternoon, and began shooting at passers-by, according to a police statement. At least six people have died and fifteen have been injured in the attack, as the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has called the attack.
The Malopolska region, where the city is located, has reported that 12 of the 15 injured are in serious condition. The fatalities are four women and two men, according to the police.
The police have confirmed that they have shot down the assailant, who has been injured and is being treated in hospital. This is a 24-year-old man of Polish nationality who has acted alone. Among the injured are two police officers, according to Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski.
The aggressor was carrying “a military rifle with a lot of ammunition,” according to police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo, reported at a press conference. Hundreds of bullets were also found in the car. According to Cislo, the attacker was carrying a camera to record the shooting and was wearing a bulletproof vest. “He didn't have a specific objective, that's why he went to a very busy place,” said the spokesperson. The online newspaper Onet reports that the attacker, named Michal O., is from the town of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, in the same region as Krakow, about 200 kilometers away.
"I am being promptly informed by the Minister of the Interior about the situation in Krakow after the tragic shooting. The police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack," tweeted Tusk, who headed to Krakow after the attack.
The prime minister has called on all political parties “not to play with the tragedy.” “We will clarify all the circumstances of this crime,” he promised.
Emergency teams have asked residents and tourists to move away from the square and take refuge in a safe place. An emergency medical services helicopter has landed at the scene, along with ambulances, Polish media report.
The Polish president, Karol Nawrocki, has also expressed in X "great concern" about the "tragic events in the center of Krakow." “My thoughts are with the victims, the victims and their families,” added the head of state.
The Minister of Justice, Waldemar Zurek, has assured that "the prosecutors, the police and all the security services are already working at the scene of the event to secure evidence and clarify the circumstances of the attack." "The State is acting. We call to remain calm and not hinder the work of the services."
The newspaper Gazeta Wyborzca reports that the establishments in the square sheltered those who were there and closed until the danger passed. Others ran away. "I saw a group of about 30 people running down Grodzka Street from the Market Square, some in T-shirts. They weren't shouting, they were just running. At first I thought it was some kind of demonstration, but then I heard three shots, isolated," Alicja Szczepanska, a former police officer and Krakow councillor, told the newspaper.
Mass shootings are not common in Poland, but normality is no longer what it used to be. A month ago, the country experienced a series of attacks and threats by teenagers against educational centers that led to dozens of arrests, also rare events in this eastern European country.
