Six killed in shooting on Kraków's Main Market Square, police say
Six people were killed and at least 15 injured, including two police officers, when a man drove onto Kraków's Main Market Square at about 3pm local time on Saturday 7 November 2026 and fired at random people from his car, Małopolska police said. The dead were four women and two men. Police shot the suspect - a Polish citizen who has not been named - and took him to hospital in custody, and said he acted alone. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack; the motive is not yet known.
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Key points
- Six people were killed and at least 15 injured, two of them police officers, on Kraków's Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon.
- The gunman fired at random people from a car he had driven onto the square, police said.
- Police shot the suspect, a Polish citizen, and took him to hospital in custody; police say he acted alone.
- His identity and motive have not been released; Prime Minister Tusk says police are investigating the attack's background.
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What happened
The Main Market Square is the largest medieval town square in Europe and the centre of Kraków's UNESCO-listed Old Town, filled with tourists and local people on a Saturday afternoon. A television crew from the Republika station was on the square to cover a planned anti-government protest and broadcast footage of paramedics treating victims.
Police said the suspect was arrested a short distance from the square after officers shot him. He was wearing military-style clothing and a balaclava, and images from the scene showed a long gun on the ground beside him.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The police account of the attack agrees across Notes from Poland's report of the police statements, PA Media and CNN; police later raised the toll to six dead, and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said two officers were wounded by gunfire, one seriously. PA Media put the injured at at least 15 in its updated report, while CNN said about a dozen, so the injured count may still settle.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The lone-suspect account, the shooting of the suspect and his hospital detention are the police's own statements, reported identically by Notes from Poland and PA Media; police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło described the military-style clothing and the long gun to TVN24, reported by PA, which also reported the other weapons and ammunition found in the car.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Tusk's words are from his own post on X, quoted identically across the reports read; Kierwiński's travel was confirmed by his ministry, reported by Notes from Poland, and Nawrocki's statement was carried by PA Media and CNN.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: The age and rifle-type details come from RMF FM and other Polish media reporting; Circuit Magazine and Notes from Poland both record that police have not confirmed the suspect's identity or a motive.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Six people are dead and at least 15 injured, on the police's updated count.
- One suspect is in hospital in police custody, and police say no one else is being sought.
What we don't know yet
- The suspect's identity and his motive — police have released neither.
- How the suspect obtained the weapon he used.
- Whether the toll changes again - police said casualty figures may be updated as the investigation continues, and reports differ on the number injured.
Why it matters
Mass shootings are rare in Poland, and this one struck the country's most visited public square in its second-largest city. How the gunman obtained a military-type weapon, and why he attacked, are now the central questions of the police investigation.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Police raised the toll to six people killed - four women and two men - and at least 15 injured, two of them police officers, one seriously. Police also said many other weapons and ammunition were found in the suspect's car.
Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: Małopolska police statements, reported by Polish and international outlets.