At least 6 people were killed and 16 others injured in Krakow this Saturday, November 7 during a shooting, according to Polish media TVN24 and local police. “Among these sixteen people, five are not of Polish nationality,” Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński told the press. He added that a person of foreign nationality was among the six people who did not survive.
According to police sources in Poland, the shooter acted alone. Dressed in military uniform and possessing an assault rifle with glasses, he was driving a car in the city center of Krakow, then opened fire on pedestrians at random, before being neutralized by the police. He was shot and injured during his arrest and transported to hospital.
The individual has Polish nationality, the authorities specify. “Everything suggests that he had very, very radical opinions,” said Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński in the evening, during a press briefing in Krakow. “Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies. Although this will still have to be verified,” he added. Police found other weapons and a large quantity of ammunition in the suspect's car, Katarzyna Cisło of Krakow police told TVN24 news channel, adding that he was 24 years old.
Two police officers were injured during the exchange of fire aimed at neutralizing the shooter. A video circulating on social networks shows a police officer shoot the perpetrator of the shooting on a street corner, before collapsing himself in turn, visibly injured by a shot. Other videos show a second injured police officer at the scene where the attacker was neutralized, also receiving help from passers-by in the minutes following the exchange of fire. One of these two police officers is “in a very serious condition” and suffers from “three gunshot wounds” and will have to undergo surgery quickly, specifies Minister of the Interior Marcin Kierwiński. “The Krakow police officers risked their lives to intervene immediately. It was thanks to their heroic intervention that the attacker was quickly apprehended,” he added.
Condolences from all over the world
Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks of a “tragic shooting” and indicates that “the police are investigating the circumstances and context of the attack”. He is expected there, as is the Minister of the Interior. The President of the Republic Karol Nawrocki expressed his “immense concern”. “I am awaiting full explanations on the circumstances of these dramatic events (...). The security of Poles is a top priority,” wrote Karol Nawrocki on X.
Numerous emergency services are on site and a rescue helicopter was notably seen in the center of the market square. Law enforcement and emergency services are urging residents and tourists not to visit the market square, and are advising anyone in the area to seek safety.
“At the scene of the event, prosecutors, the police and all law enforcement agencies are already hard at work to secure the clues and elucidate the circumstances of the attack. The State acts. We call for calm and not to hinder the work of the services. We will ensure exemplary punishment of the author of this crime,” Polish Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek declared on X.
Macron expressed his “shock” and his “emotion”
Poland receives condolences from all over the world, said Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. “I am receiving dozens of messages from foreign ministers around the world expressing their condolences to Poland, to Krakow, to the injured and to the families of the victims. Millions of foreigners who visited the market place particularly feel our pain and show us their solidarity,” he wrote on X.
In a message posted on X, the United States Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, expressed America's support for the victims, calling it a "savage and deadly attack."
The head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, deplored a “tragedy” and added that “in this moment of mourning, Poland is not alone”. The repercussions “of this event” will be felt well beyond the borders of Poland, she assured in a publication on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Italian head of government Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also published messages of support in Warsaw. French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “shock” and “emotion”.
Donald Tusk launched “an urgent appeal to political leaders of all sides” not to make “this tragedy an instrument of political games”.
