Gunman opens fire in Polish city of Krakow, killing 6 people and injuring 15

KRAKOW, Poland — A Polish man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and injuring 15 others before police shot and wounded him, authorities said.

The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror,” happened in Main Square in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town. It is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.

The 25-year-old attacker drove to multiple spots in the square and opened fire at each stop with an automatic weapon, authorities said. Authorities did not release his name, but Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said the man holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.

“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwinski said at a news conference.

Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities found the bodies of three of the suspect’s close family members — two women and a man — inside his home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 90 miles northeast of Krakow.

“We have the next acts of this tragedy,” Tusk told reporters.

Four women and two men were killed in the Krakow attack. At least three of the women were Polish, and one of the dead was a U.K. citizen, authorities said. Police were still trying to identify the other two people who were killed.

A total of 13 people were hospitalized in serious condition, authorities said, though that figure may include the gunman, who underwent surgery after the attack.

It’s unclear how many of the injured were shot. Two of them were treated and released within hours of the mass shooting. Two police officers were seriously injured, Kierwinski said. Five non-Poles were also injured, police commander Marek Boron said.

Animal rights group OTOZ Animals said the attacker also shot two horses. One was grazed by a bullet and the other hit in the leg; both survived. White carriages drawn by horses are a main tourist attraction in the square.

People wounded at several locations

The attacker wore military-style fatigues and a bulletproof vest and used a military-type long gun, Krakow police spokesperson Katarzyna Cislo said. Police found other weapons and ammunition in his car. He kept firing at the police even after being shot, she said.

The attacker engaged in a “wild ride” around the Main Square, Cislo said, and people were wounded at several locations. He appears to have acted alone, she said.

Krakow Mayor Lukasz Gibala said the city will be in official mourning until Wednesday. He vowed that Krakow will remain open to visitors despite the tragedy.

“The square will belong to us again,” Gibala said in a video on social media.

Mass shootings are rare in Poland

Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims. In one video, a policeman is seen repeatedly shooting the attacker, who is lying on the street, only to later slowly collapse to the ground himself.

Photos showed a Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter after it landed in the square.

It was not immediately clear whether the firearm used in Saturday’s attack, or the guns found in the suspect’s car, were legal. Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.

Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. But in mid-October, three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children.

After the Krakow shooting, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski announced increased security measures, including road barriers, along main streets in the old town in the Polish capital.

Ciobanu, Dazio and Zawrzel write for the Associated Press. Ciobanu reported from Warsaw and Dazio reported from Berlin.