Five killed in shooting around market square in Polish city of Kraków

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Five people have been killed and many more injured after a man opened fire from a moving vehicle in the historic city centre of Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, today. Police have apprehended the perpetrator.

At around 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, a man who had driven onto Kraków’s market square – a large public space filled with tourists and locals – “began firing at random people from his car”, said police.

They later confirmed that five people had been killed and at least a dozen were injured. The perpetrator is being transported to hospital after his capture.

There remains a large presence of emergency service vehicles on the market square. Footage from Republika, a TV station that had been present on the square to report from an anti-government protest that was planned for today, showed paramedics appearing to treat victims.

The station also broadcast footage, which remains unverified, appearing to show the car from which shots were fired driving through a street that leads away from the square. A police car can be seen behind it and the apparent sound of gunfire can be heard.

Further videos and photos shared on social media show the alleged perpetrator being apprehended by police. He is wearing a military-style uniform and a balaclava, while what looks like an AR-15-style rifle can be seen on the ground alongside him.

Main image credit: Jakub Wlodek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.