Gunman Firing From Car Kills 6 in Krakow Square

A gunman firing from a moving car killed six people and wounded at least 15 in the Main Market Square of Krakow, Poland, on Saturday afternoon, before police shot him and took him into custody, Polish authorities said. Four women and two men were killed. Police began getting reports around 3 p.m. local time that a man had driven into the square and started shooting at random.

Officers searching the suspect's home later found three more bodies, two women and a man. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said they are believed to be relatives of the shooter.

The suspect is a 24-year-old Polish citizen. He was shot and wounded in a confrontation with officers a short distance from the first shots and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police said he acted alone.

A car moving through a crowded square

The shooting started near Slawkowska Street, just off the main square. Local government officials said early information indicated the shots were fired from a passing vehicle.

The attacker drove to several spots in the square and opened fire at each stop. Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło described it as a "wild ride" around the square, which is why victims were found in different locations rather than in one spot.

Officers traded gunfire with him as he moved. He kept shooting at police even after he was hit, authorities said, before he was finally subdued. Video from the scene posted on social media shows a black car racing through the square and dozens of people running in every direction at the sound of gunfire.

The death toll stood at five for part of the afternoon. The Malopolski regional government raised it to six in a post on X.

Three bodies found in an apartment 93 miles away

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński identified the shooter as a man in his mid-20s from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city some 93 miles northeast of Krakow.

A man and two women were found dead in an apartment there. Andrzej Fijołek, deputy inspector of Police National Headquarters, said they are believed to be the shooter's parents and sister.

"We have the next acts of this tragedy," Tusk said of the discovery.

The suspect underwent multiple surgeries and remained in critical condition, police said. He is the only perpetrator authorities were looking for. Małopolska Police said on X that the alleged gunman is a Polish citizen and shot down reports of a second attacker, writing that "the only known perpetrator of the incident is in police custody."

Two wounded officers, both named by Tusk

Two police officers were seriously wounded. One was shot once. The other was shot three times and was in very critical condition, with surgery underway, Kierwiński said in a post on X.

Tusk named them both. "Senior constable Jakub Kulik and senior constable Artur Moranski are true heroes," the prime minister said. "They likely saved lots of lives while risking their own lives. Their conditions are serious but they are in good hands. All of Poland has their fingers crossed for you."

Kierwiński wrote that officers moved in immediately. "Police officers in Kraków risked their lives to intervene. Immediately. Thanks to their heroic actions, the attacker was quickly apprehended," he wrote.

Video circulating online appears to show a wounded officer firing at the gunman with no backup nearby, then dropping to his knees and rolling onto his back while struggling to reload and clutching his right arm. It was not clear whether that officer is one of the two the interior minister described. Małopolska Police said in an X post that no officer had been killed, pushing back on what it called incorrect reports.

Fatigues, a vest and a car full of weapons

Cisło told the Polish broadcaster TVN24 that the gunman was wearing military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-type long gun. She told ABC News the camouflage clothing was not an official military uniform, and that he was reportedly armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

Police found many other weapons and a quantity of ammunition inside the car he had been driving.

Poland's defense minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, denied reports that the suspect was a soldier. He described the attack as an act of terror.

What officials say about the shooter's politics

Kierwiński told a news conference the suspect held "very radical" and "ultra-nationalistic" views.

"Everything indicates he was fascinated by far-right ideologies," the interior minister said.

Tusk said on social media that he was being briefed by the interior minister and that "the police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack." He traveled to Krakow from Warsaw and held a crisis briefing late Saturday with government ministers and security officials.

The dead and the wounded

Four of the six people killed in the square had been identified by Saturday night, though Polish authorities did not release their names. Three were Polish nationals. One was a U.K. citizen, according to Krakow police and the U.K. Foreign Secretary. At least three of the women killed were Polish.

An Interior Ministry spokesperson said the injured include foreign nationals from Austria, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Britain. Thirteen people were hospitalized in serious condition, a figure that may include the gunman.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said they were not aware of any American citizens being harmed.

Witnesses describe a square turning into a stampede

Annette, a woman in her sixties, told the news wire Agence France-Presse she watched the attack unfold. "I saw a man shooting at people and walking around the square," she said. "It's a tragedy for Krakow; we've never seen anything like this before."

Taylor Dorfmeister, a 21-year-old American student from Santa Cruz, California, who is studying in Italy, was in the square with his roommate when the shooting started. He said there was a pause before the crowd reacted, then everyone ran. He took shelter inside a building.

"We ran up the stairs in the building to hide and it was a dead end, which is when I was the most terrified since the gunshots were [loud] and near," Dorfmeister told NBC News. It sounded to him like the shots were coming from the first floor of the building where he was hiding.

Krakow's municipal government urged people to stay away from areas where police and rescue workers were operating. Officers set up a bus near the scene so witnesses could give statements.

The city will mourn until Wednesday

Krakow Mayor Łukasz Gibała declared official mourning through Wednesday, Nov. 11, and said the city will stay open to visitors.

"The square will belong to us again," Gibała said in a video posted to X.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki offered condolences to the victims and said he was in touch with the relevant services. "I remain in contact with the relevant services and expect a full clarification of the circumstances surrounding these dramatic events. The Head of the National Security Bureau is on his way to Kraków," the president said.

Why this is so rare in Poland

Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland, a European Union and NATO member of 37 million people. The country has strict rules for acquiring firearms, and very few people are permitted to own military-style weapons or carry a gun in public.

Krakow is Poland's second-largest city, roughly 155 miles from Warsaw. The Main Market Square sits in the heart of the Old Town, a historic center listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and packed on weekends with tourists, market stalls and locals.

Reaction from Washington and Brussels

Tom Rose, the U.S. ambassador to Poland, wrote on X that several innocent lives were cut down on a Saturday afternoon in Krakow's central square.

"We are just learning details of the horrific mass shooting in Krakow, a savage and murderous attack that's shattered the peace of Poland," Rose wrote. "America stands with Poland at this dark hour as Poland stands with her beloved citizens of Krakow."

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said the bloc stands with Poland. "The tragic loss of life in the shooting in Kraków is a tragedy that will be felt far beyond Poland," she wrote on X. "Poland's strength lies in the resilience of its people. In this moment of grief, Poland does not stand alone."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed solidarity with Poland. Other details about the attack were not immediately available, and police said the investigation into the background of the shooting is ongoing.