At least six people were killed and 15 others injured, including police officers and foreign nationals, in a shooting in central Krakow, southern Poland.
Police said a man went to the city’s main market square around 3 p.m. (2 p.m. GMT) on Saturday and “started shooting at people randomly from his car.” Four women and two men were killed.
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Police said officers shot and arrested the man, who acted alone. He has since been taken to hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.
A British national was among those killed, according to Polish police chief Marek Boron, and five foreigners were among the injured hospitalized. Boron said two of the victims had not yet been identified. Authorities have not released the nationalities of all the victims.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the suspect is a Polish citizen, with Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski saying he appeared “fascinated by far-right ideologies” and had “ultra-nationalist views”.
“During the arrest, the police officers used their weapons, but the man fought back; as a result, two police officers are among the injured,” a police spokesperson said.
Kierwinski said one of the officers was in critical condition. He also said five foreigners were among the injured hospitalized and a foreign national was among those killed.
Kierwinski said a number of weapons were found in the car the suspect was driving.
Police said the man was wearing military-style clothing and using a semi-automatic rifle similar to an American AR-15.
A “tragic” shooting
In an article on X, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised the police’s “heroic” response to the “tragic shooting.”
Tusk later told reporters in Krakow that the shooting was an act of “terrorism.”
“So far in Poland we have not experienced such serious cases of terrorism,” he said, adding: “This is what we must call this cruel attack on people’s lives here in Krakow.”
He announced two days of national mourning and said three bodies – two women and a man – had been found at the suspect’s home, with “much reason to believe that they are members of (the suspect’s) immediate family”.
“I am being kept informed by the Minister of the Interior about the situation in Krakow,” he wrote on X, adding that “the police are investigating the context and all the circumstances of the attack.”
President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, those affected and their families.
Nawrocki said he was waiting for “a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding these dramatic events,” adding that the security of Poles was “an absolute priority.”
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on social media that he was “receiving dozens of messages from foreign ministers around the world offering their condolences.”
Tom Rose, the U.S. ambassador to Poland, called the incident “a terrible mass shooting… a savage and deadly attack that shattered the peace in Poland.”
“America stands with Poland in this dark hour, just as Poland stands with its beloved citizens of Krakow,” he wrote on X.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was “shocked and saddened by this appalling shooting”.
“My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives, with all those who were injured, and with all those who were affected by this senseless violence,” he wrote on X.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany stood “by Poland’s side as a friend and partner in these difficult times.”
Located approximately 250 km south of the capital Warsaw, Krakow is Poland’s second largest city and a popular tourist destination, attracting around 15 million visitors each year.
Deadly shootings are extremely rare in Poland, a member country of the European Union and NATO with a population of 38 million. But the country was on alert after a series of knife attacks in October, which Tusk denounced as a “cult of violence”.
Saturday’s shooting was the deadliest in Poland since the fall of communism in 1989. The country has also seen a sharp rise in the number of gun permits, with more than 50,000 issued in 2025, bringing the total to 411,000, according to police figures.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Saturday on X that “Poland is not alone.”
“The tragic loss of life in the Krakow shootings is a tragedy that will be felt far beyond Poland,” Kallas said. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the first responders.”
Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, has repeatedly warned of Russian sabotage and hybrid warfare on Polish soil, accusations Moscow rejects.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences and condemned this “shocking crime”.
“Ukraine stands in solidarity with Poland and the Polish people. People have the right to security,” he said on social media.
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