KRAKÓW, Poland — Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a gunman opened fire on random people in the Main Market Square of Kraków, Poland's second-largest city, on Saturday afternoon, November 7, police said. Reuters and the Associated Press independently confirmed the five deaths, citing Polish police.

Source: Reuters and AP via SRF

In a statement posted on X, Małopolska Police said a police operation was under way at the Main Market in Kraków: at around 3 p.m. local time (15:00 CET), a man in a car who had driven onto the square started shooting at random people. Emergency services said shots were fired in the square — Rynek Główny, in the city's Old Town — and police also conducted an operation on nearby Dietla Street. A Polish Medical Air Rescue helicopter landed in the square as ambulances and police sealed off the area.

Source: Małopolska Police via LADbible

The perpetrator was shot by police officers during the confrontation, detained and taken to hospital, police said. A spokesperson for the local firefighters told Polsat News the perpetrator fired a gun from a passing car. Police said they had secured a weapon and ammunition and were not looking for anyone else. The suspect has not been publicly named, and police have not said what the motive may have been.

Leaders react

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X that he was being kept informed by the interior minister about the situation in Kraków following the tragic shooting, and that police were investigating 'the background and all the circumstances of the attack'. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński set out for Kraków. Tom Rose, the US ambassador to Poland, wrote on X: 'We are just learning details of the horrific mass shooting in Krakow, a savage and murderous attack that's shattered the peace of Poland. America stands with Poland at this dark hour.'

Source: Associated Press via PA Media

A rare attack in a tightly policed country

Kraków lies roughly 250 km (155 miles) south of the capital, Warsaw, and its Main Market Square — the largest medieval town square in Europe — is one of Poland's busiest tourist destinations, packed on a Saturday afternoon. Public shootings are rare in Poland, where gun laws are stricter than in countries such as the United States, and an attack of this scale in the heart of a historic city centre has shocked the country.

What happens next: police said a major investigation would continue at the scene, and the square remained cordoned off on Saturday evening. The victims had not been publicly identified in the initial reports, and officials said more detail would follow as the investigation establishes the suspect's identity, his background and how he obtained the weapon.