Krakow (Poland), Nov 8 (AP) A Polish man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and injuring 15 others before police shot and wounded him, authorities said.
The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror”, happened in Main Square, which is in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town and is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.
The 25-year-old attacker drove to multiple spots in the square and opened fire at each stop with an automatic weapon, authorities said. Although they didn’t release his name, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the man holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.
“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwinski said at a news conference.
Four women and two men were killed. At least three of the women were Polish, and one of the dead was a UK citizen, authorities said at a news conference. Police were still trying to identify the other two people killed hours after the attack.
Two police officers were among the injured, including one whose injuries were serious, Kierwinski said. Also injured in the attack were five non-Poles, police commander Marek Boron said.
Authorities said a total of 13 people were hospitalised in serious condition, though that figure may include the gunman, who underwent surgery after the attack.
It’s unclear how many of the injured were shot. Two of them were treated and released within hours of the mass shooting.
People wounded at several locations
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The attacker wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest, and used a military-type long gun, Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said. Police found many other weapons and ammunition in his car. He kept firing at the police even after being shot himself, she said.
The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around Main Square, which is why people were wounded at several locations, Cislo said.
Cislo added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe.
Krakow mayor Lukasz Gibala said the city will be in official mourning until Wednesday. He vowed that Krakow will remain open to visitors despite the tragedy.
“The square will belong to us again,” Gibala said in a video posted to X.
Mass shootings rare in Poland
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Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims. In one video, a police officer is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse himself to the ground.
Photos showed a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter after it landed in the square.
It was not immediately clear whether the firearm used in Saturday’s attack, or the guns found in the perpetrator’s car, were legal. Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a post on X, praised the police officers who responded to Saturday’s tragedy. President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded and their families.
A tram driver reported around 3 pm that his vehicle was shot at by a man in a moving car while passing nearby the main square, the Krakow municipal transport company said. The window to the tram driver’s cabin was shattered.
Animal rights group OTOZ Animals said the attacker also shot two horses. Both animals are alive, but one was grazed by a bullet and the other hit in the leg. White carriages drawn by horses are a main tourist attraction in the square.
Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along main streets in the old town in the Polish capital in the aftermath of the Krakow attack.
(PTI News)
