The U.S. Embassy in Poland issued a security alert Saturday telling American citizens to stay away from Krakow's Main Market Square after a gunman drove onto the historic plaza and opened fire on passersby, killing six people and wounding 16 others. A follow-up alert said local police had confirmed the perpetrator was in custody, and urged Americans to keep a high level of vigilance, especially at holiday festivals and other public events. Poland's emergency number is 112.
"We are just learning details of the horrific mass shooting in Krakow, a savage and murderous attack that's shattered the peace of Poland," U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose wrote on X. "America stands with Poland at this dark hour as Poland stands with her beloved citizens of Krakow."
Polish officials have not said whether any Americans were among the victims. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said one foreign national was among the dead identified so far, without giving a nationality. Four women and two men were killed. Police raised the number of wounded from 15 to 16 late Saturday.
Shots fired from a moving car
The attack began shortly after 3 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. Eastern, when a black Subaru drove onto the square, which is closed to traffic, from Sławkowska Street. Krakow police spokeswoman Katarzyna Cisło said the driver wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-type long gun, firing at random people during what she called a "wild ride" around the square. Krakow's public transit company said a tram driver's cab window was shattered by shots fired from the moving car nearby.
Police stopped the car at the intersection of Dietla and Stradomska streets, south of the Old Town. The suspect opened fire on officers and kept shooting even after he had been hit, Cisło said, before he was wounded and taken into custody. Two officers were wounded, one critically with three gunshot wounds, according to Kierwiński, who said police fired their first shots at the attacker within three minutes of the first call.
Police said the suspect is a 24-year-old Polish citizen from the Świętokrzyskie region who held a firearms permit and had no criminal record, and that he acted alone. National police spokesman Andrzej Fijołek told broadcaster TVN24 the man used a civilian version of an AR-15 rifle; more weapons and ammunition were found in his car. Kierwiński said a first analysis points to ultranationalist views but stressed that investigators still have to verify it. Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the shooting an "act of terror" against residents and tourists and denied claims circulating online that the gunman was a soldier.
Allies line up behind Poland
Condolences poured in from across Europe. "The tragic loss of life in the shooting in Kraków is a tragedy that will be felt far beyond Poland," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X. "In this moment of grief, Poland does not stand alone." European Parliament President Roberta Metsola thanked police and rescuers for their swift response, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack a shocking crime for which there can be no justification. The presidents of Lithuania and Latvia and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar also sent messages of solidarity.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the shooting an attack, praised "heroic police officers who acted at the risk of their lives" and urged politicians of all parties not to exploit the tragedy. President Karol Nawrocki started the formal procedure to declare national mourning on Nov. 8 and 9. Krakow Mayor Łukasz Gibała declared mourning in the city through Nov. 11 and vowed the city would stay open to visitors. "The square will belong to us again," he said.
Taylor Dorfmeister told NBC News he was in the square with his roommate when the gunfire erupted and ran for cover. "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," he said.
Mass shootings are rare in Poland, a NATO ally of about 37 million people where some 411,000 people hold gun permits, according to the Associated Press. Krakow, the country's second-largest city, draws about 15 million visitors a year, most of whom pass through the Main Market Square, home to the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Basilica.
Cover photo: Getty Images. Photos: Jakub Porzycki/Reuters
