Summary:

A gunman killed six people and wounded 15 as he fired a semi-automatic rifle from a moving car through the Main Market Square in Kraków, southern Poland, on the afternoon of 7 November 2026. He drove about 1.5 kilometres before the car collided with another vehicle. Police shot and arrested him after an exchange of fire.

No motive has been announced. Police say the gunman was a Polish citizen who acted alone and held a firearms licence. Prime Minister Donald Tusk thanked the police and asked politicians of all persuasions not to play with the tragedy.

The gunman was operated on in hospital and is reported stable under guard. At least two police officers were among the wounded, one of them in critical condition. National mourning has been declared for 8 and 9 November.

 

Detailed Report

 

1. Car Shooting Across Kraków’s Old Town Ends in Police Shootout and Arrest

The shooting began shortly after 15:00 local time on Saturday 7 November, when a black Subaru Impreza drove into Rynek Główny, the main square of Kraków’s UNESCO-listed old town, from Sławkowska Street. The square was crowded with residents and tourists.

Police said the driver wore military-style camouflage, a helmet or balaclava and tactical gear. He fired an AR-15-style rifle at random people from the moving car as it crossed the square and followed Grodzka Street toward Stradomska Street.

Shots damaged a shopfront near St Mary’s Basilica, the Gothic church on the square, and a window of a tram on Plac Wszystkich Świętych, otherwise known as All Saints’ Square.

The Subaru travelled about 1.5 kilometres before it collided with a white car near the junction of Stradomska and Dietla streets. The driver got out and fired at police. Officers returned fire, wounded him and arrested him. He underwent surgery in hospital and was reported stable under guard.

Six people were killed, four women and two men. The Lesser Poland Voivodeship Office, the central government’s representation in the region, said 15 others were injured, some of them taken to University Hospital. At least two were police officers.

Police, fire crews and an air ambulance helicopter, which landed on the square, responded. Police set up a bus there to take witness statements.

 

2. Police Say Licensed Pole Acted Alone; Media Name Him as Michał O., 24

Police said they were dealing with a single Polish citizen acting alone. Kraków police spokesperson Katarzyna Cisło and national police spokesperson Andrzej Fijołek said he held a firearms licence but carried no documents. Firearm ownership in Poland is tightly licensed, and attacks of this kind are rare. The spokespeople said his clothing and equipment showed he was well prepared and well armed.

Police described the rifle as an AR-15-style carbine, a semi-automatic weapon sold to civilians and modelled on a military design. Police and Polish media reported that the car also held more firearms, a large quantity of ammunition, magazines, a military-style backpack and a bayonet.

Police denied two rumours that spread in the first hours: that a second attacker was involved, and that an officer had been killed.

Polish media, including the regional daily Gazeta Krakowska and the news portal Onet, identify the gunman as Michał O., a 24-year-old from the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski area of south-central Poland. They report that he had no prior convictions and was not known to police.

The Subaru was registered to his father, who is about 52 and reported to hold licences for 11 firearms. Local media report that police searched the family’s property.

 

Prime Minister Donald Tusk first commented on X, the social media platform, within about an hour of the first shots:

“I am being kept informed on an ongoing basis by the Minister of Internal Affairs about the situation in Kraków after the tragic shooting. The police are investigating the background and all the circumstances of the attack.”

A second post that evening thanked the police and addressed the country’s politicians:

“Deep expressions of sympathy to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragic attack in Kraków. Highest words of recognition for the heroic police officers who acted at the risk of their lives. And a warm appeal to politicians of all options: do not play with this tragedy. We will explain all the circumstances of this crime.”

The appeal came as some opposition politicians and social-media accounts were framing the attack in partisan terms. Tusk then travelled to Kraków for a briefing with ministers and the security services, announced for about 21:45 local time.

Another claim circulating online was that the attacker was a soldier. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz replied on X that evening: 

“I firmly deny information appearing in the public space that the attacker who carried out today’s attack in Kraków was a soldier of the Polish Army. The man was not and is not a soldier of the Polish Army and has never had anything to do with the army.”

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said police had intervened immediately at personal risk and that their conduct allowed a rapid arrest. One officer had been hit by three bullets and was in surgery, he said, and a second had also been shot. The national police commander, General Marek Boroń, travelled to Kraków.

President Karol Nawrocki expressed deep concern, said he was in contact with the security services and said he expected a full explanation of the circumstances.

  

Conclusion

A man identified in Polish media as Michał O. fired a rifle from a moving car through Kraków’s Main Market Square on 7 November, killing six people and wounding 15, before police shot and arrested him. Police say he acted alone and held a firearms licence; no motive has been announced.