WARSAW, Nov 7 (Reuters) – A gunman shot dead five people and wounded more than 10 on Saturday in the main square of the southern Polish city of Krakow, police said, before they shot and arrested him.
The injured included two police officers who were hurt in a shootout with the attacker, who police said wore “military-style” clothes. Police said they started to receive reports at around 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) that an assailant had opened fire from a car and shot randomly at people in the square.
Unverified footage shared on social media showed people fleeing the scene as shots and police sirens rang out. Other video showed people lying on blood-spattered paving stones and bystanders trying to resuscitate them.
“I saw shots being fired from the driver’s side window, and smoke was coming out. I ran to the police station in the main market square; when I burst inside, it was full of people hiding on the floor,” a man who gave his name only as Konrad, and witnessed the shooting, told news website Interia.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X he was being kept informed about the incident in the historic centre of Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major tourist attraction.
“The man was wearing military-style attire,” a police spokesperson told reporters, adding: “During the arrest, officers used their weapons, but the man returned fire; as a result, two police officers are among the injured”.
“The perpetrator was shot by police officers and is currently being transported to a hospital,” police said on X.
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki said his thoughts were with the victims, those affected, and their families.
(Reporting by Kacper Pempel, Karol Badohal, Alan Charlish, Krisztina Than; Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith)
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