Gunman who killed at least 6 in Kraków mass shooting has died in hospital

By Helen Regan, CNN

(CNN) — A gunman who killed at least six people in Kraków, during a deadly rampage in the Polish city’s historic main square on Saturday has died in hospital, Reuters news agency reported on Monday, citing police.

The country was horrified by the rare mass shooting in the country’s south, which prompted national mourning and heightened security, as authorities said the attack was likely driven by far-right ideology.

The Polish citizen, in his 20s, was shot and injured by police during the attack before being transported to hospital. There, he underwent multiple surgeries and had been in a critical condition prior to his death.

The mass shooting — which authorities said they are investigating as a possible terror attack — has generated a wave of fear in a European nation with exceptionally tight gun laws.

Kraków police said the gunman drove into the city’s main market square and started firing randomly at people, initially from his car, killing four women and two men, on Saturday afternoon. Sixteen others were injured, including two police officers.

The alleged attacker was wearing military-style clothing and used “military weapons,” Police Deputy Inspector Katarzyna Cisło told Polish news outlet TVN24. Weapons and ammunition were also found in his vehicle, Cisło added.

The bodies of his sister, mother and father were later found at the suspect’s home in the town of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, about 120 miles northeast of Kraków. Poland’s prosecutor’s office said Sunday that it is “highly likely” the killings were carried out by the same person, but investigations were ongoing.

The gunman’s motive was not immediately clear, but at a press conference, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said that the shooter was fascinated with far-right ideologies and held “very radical views.”

Off-duty surgeons saved lives

An off-duty surgeon who rushed to the scene of the shooting to treat victims of the attack, including a police officer, said he had just finished eating lunch with his family when he heard “what sounded like gunshots.”

Michal Pedziwiatr described being “in the eye of the storm” as he and a friend – also a surgeon – began providing care to the wounded.

Pedziwiatr told a press conference on Sunday that his friend, Mateusz Wierdak, was a “hero” for saving the life of a police officer who subdued the attacker, after he “applied pressure to the bleeding wound without any protective gear or gloves” and “stuffed gauze pads into the chest cavity,” Reuters reported.

The two wounded police officers, who Polish Prime ​Minister ‌Donald Tusk praised for also saving “many lives,” underwent surgery and remain in hospital, police said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Charlotte Reck, Christina Zdanowicz, Billy Stockwell and Sana Noor Haq contributed reporting.