KRAKOW, Poland — Five people were killed and more than a dozen others were injured Saturday afternoon when a gunman opened fire in a crowded market square in Krakow, police said.
The attacker, a Polish citizen, drove into the Main Square, one of the city center’s most popular tourist sites, and fired at people at random, according to Krakow police. Several police officers were among those wounded.
Officers later exchanged gunfire with the suspect a short distance from the initial scene, shooting and injuring him, police said.
Katarzyna Ciso, a Krakow police spokesperson, told TVN24 that the gunman was dressed in military-style clothing and used a military-type long gun. Officers also discovered multiple weapons and ammunition inside his car.
Ciso said the gunman appeared to have acted alone and that there was no longer a threat to the public. Mass shootings are rare in Poland.
Images from the scene showed police and ambulances surrounding the square. A helicopter operated by Polish Medical Air Rescue also landed there.
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Krakow’s municipal transport company said a tram driver reported at about 3 p.m. that a man in a moving car had fired at the vehicle as it passed near the Main Square. The window of the driver’s cabin was shattered.
Krakow attracts about 15 million visitors each year, with most tourists passing through the Main Square.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X that police were investigating the attack. President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the injured and their families.
“We are just learning details of the horrific mass shooting in Krakow, a savage and murderous attack that’s shattered the peace of Poland,” Tom Rose, the U.S. ambassador to Poland, wrote on X. “America stands with Poland at this dark hour as Poland stands with her beloved citizens of Krakow.”
Krakow is Poland’s second-largest city, located roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the capital, Warsaw.
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