Gunman who killed at least six people in Krakow had ‘far-right’ views, Polish government says

Six people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon in a busy market square in Krakow, Poland, police said. Three more people, likely the gunman's family members, were later found dead at his home, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. 

The gunman, a Polish citizen, aimed at random people as he drove into the Main Square, a major tourist destination in the center of the city, Krakow police said. Police officers are among the wounded. 

The gunman was "fascinated by far-right ideologies", Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said Saturday.

"Everything suggests that the perpetrator held very, very radical views. A number of weapons were found in the car he was driving," Kierwinski said, adding that "everything suggests that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies".

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The perpetrator was shot and wounded during a gunfight with officers a short distance away from the initial violence, police said.

Katarzyna Cisło, a spokesperson for the Krakow police, told TVN24 that the perpetrator was wearing military-style fatigues and he used a military-type long gun in the attack. Police found many other weapons, as well as ammunition, in his car.

Cisło added that the gunman acted alone and that the public is safe. Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland.

Images from the scene showed police officers and ambulances covering the area, and a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter also landed in the square.

A tram driver reported around 3pm that his vehicle was shot at from 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.

Tusk announced Poland would hold two days of mourning over the shooting, which he called an act of "terrorism".

Around 15 million tourists visit Krakow annually, the majority passing through the Main Square. 

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, the wounded 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 US 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 the second-largest city in Poland and roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the capital, Warsaw.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)