Gunman kills six in Krakow main square and three more bodies found at his home as Poland declares mourning

The Krakow shooting has left Poland in shock after a gunman opened fire on crowds in the city’s historic Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon, killing at least six people and injuring 16 others. Police shot and arrested the suspect, and hours later found three more bodies at his home — believed to be members of his own family. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the attack terrorism, and Poland has declared two days of national mourning.

What happened in the Krakow shooting

At around 3pm local time (2pm GMT), a man drove his car into the Main Market Square — one of Europe’s largest medieval squares and a magnet for tourists — and began shooting at random people from inside the vehicle, police said on X. Officers were among the wounded. Police returned fire, shot the gunman and took him to hospital. Authorities later said he had driven to several spots around the square and opened fire at each one with an automatic weapon.

Police chief Marek Boron said there were six fatalities: four women and two men — three Polish women, one British national, and two people who had not yet been identified. Five of the 16 injured were non-Polish nationals, from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Britain, according to Krakow police and the Interior Ministry.

Three more bodies found at the suspect’s home

On Saturday night, Tusk said the bodies of two women and a man had been found by police at the shooter’s home. ‘There is much to suggest that they are members of the [suspect’s] immediate family,’ he told reporters. The house is in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometres northeast of Krakow. ‘We have the next acts of this tragedy,’ Tusk said.

Gunman ‘fascinated by far-right views’

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the shooter was ‘fascinated by far-right ideologies’ and held ‘ultranationalistic’ and ‘very radical’ views. Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said he wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a long gun in the attack, and that numerous other weapons and ammunition were found in his car. The suspect was a Polish citizen who held a firearms licence.

‘Until now in Poland we haven’t had such drastic cases of terrorism,’ Tusk told reporters in Krakow. ‘That’s what we have to call this cruel attack on people’s lives here in Krakow,’ he added.

Poland declares two days of national mourning

Tusk posted on X that police were investigating the attack and called it a ‘tragic’ incident, and later said Poland would observe two days of mourning for the victims. President Karol Nawrocki wrote on X that his thoughts were with the victims and the wounded, as well as their families.

Europe stands with Poland

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the shooting was a tragedy that will be felt far beyond Poland, adding: ‘Poland does not stand alone.’ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X that he was deeply saddened, adding: ‘Germany stands alongside Poland as a friend and partner during these difficult times.’

Krakow, about 250 kilometres from Warsaw, is Poland’s second-largest city with a population of more than 800,000, and one of its most popular tourist destinations. Its Main Market Square, lined with cafes and overlooked by St Mary’s Basilica, is normally packed with visitors on a Saturday afternoon.

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