Kraków Main Market shooting, Digi Mart USA News (Kraków, Poland): Details are emerging about the attacker who opened fire in central Kraków on Saturday afternoon, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen others. The suspect was shot by police and is being treated in a hospital under close supervision.
The attack took place around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
According to the report, the man drove into the area of the Main Market from Sławkowska Street and began shooting at passersby. He then fired toward a Tram Line 1 on All Saints’ Square, damaging the driver’s cab window.
Authorities reportedly determined that the attacker traveled in a black Subaru with registration plates from Ostrowiec County in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Although unofficial reports in the first minutes suggested that two people may have been involved, information from the Interior Ministry leadership and police indicates the gunman probably acted alone.
The man was prepared for the attack. He wore military-style clothing, including a camouflage jacket, and carried a long weapon.
Early operational reports suggest it may have been a semi-automatic rifle from the AR family.
After fleeing the Main Market, the suspect was located and blocked by police patrols at the intersection of Dietla and Stradomska streets. A direct confrontation followed.
The gunman exited the vehicle and opened fire on officers, wounding two of them. Police returned fire, shot the attacker and immediately subdued him.
A spokesperson for the Lesser Poland police confirmed that officers secured several additional firearms and substantial amounts of ammunition in the car abandoned by the attacker. Bomb technicians and anti-terror police arrived at the scene to check the vehicle for possible explosive devices.
The critically wounded attacker was transported by ambulance, escorted by police, to a hospital in Kraków, where doctors are monitoring his condition under armed police guard.
Police stated: “The perpetrator of the incident at the Main Market in Kraków is a citizen of the Republic of Poland. We deny information about the death of a police officer or a search for another perpetrator.
The only known perpetrator of the incident is in police custody.”
Investigators are examining the background of the tragedy, including whether the seized weapons were legal, the suspect’s possible military past, his psychiatric treatment history and any possible links to extremist groups. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the events in Kraków in an official statement as an “attack,” and Interior and Administration Minister Marcin Kierwiński was dispatched to the scene.
