The attack on Krakow’s Main Market Square has made headlines in foreign media. Germany’s Der Spiegel called it the worst shooting in Poland in decades, while AP describes a rare mass killing.
According to Der Spiegel, it is „the worst shooting in Poland in decades”. The Associated Press described how Poles are mourning the victims of a mass killing that is rare in the country. CNN, NBC News and the Washington Post also reported on the attack, with media coverage focusing mainly on how rare such incidents are in Poland and on the swift police response.
Six dead, 15 injured
On Saturday, November 7, at around 3 p.m., a masked man drove a car onto the Main Market Square and shot at random people. According to official statements, six people were killed and 15 were injured. Among the dead are at least three Polish women and a British citizen. The perpetrator was shot by police and taken to hospital. Details of the first hours were covered in our article on the arrest of the shooter from the car on the Square.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński told a press conference that the attacker holds „very radical” ultranationalist views and that everything points to his fascination with the far right. The head of the Ministry of National Defence described the attack as an act of terrorism. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that three members of the perpetrator’s family were found dead in his apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
Minute by minute, according to police
The Polish Police published a timeline of the operation on X. The first reports came in at 15:00:15, nearly 40 in total. In the second minute, municipal guards arrived at the scene; in the third, officers exchanged fire with the attacker and gave chase; in the fourth, paramedics arrived; and in the sixth, the first fire brigade units. Two officers were injured, and more than a thousand police officers were involved in the operation.
Mourning and investigation
President Karol Nawrocki declared two days of national mourning, beginning at midnight between Saturday and Sunday. Deputy head of the Chancellery of the President Wojciech Andruszkiewicz said the police officers are heroes whom „the whole world speaks of with admiration”.
Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said that the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) have been involved in the operation from the start and are examining the perpetrator’s and his family’s connections. Seven prosecutors worked at the scene, as Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek reported.
