The shooting began shortly before 3 p.m. local time in the square at the heart of Poland's second-largest city, which draws millions of visitors every year, according to BBC News. Police said the 25-year-old Polish attacker drove his car into the square and began firing at random from the vehicle.
Footage checked by BBC Verify shows people running for shelter inside nearby buildings as a dark car passes, followed by a police car, according to BBC News. A passing tram was also fired on and its windows shattered, although none of its passengers was hurt, and shop windows around the square were damaged.
Armed officers reached the scene within minutes and exchanged fire with the gunman, who was shot within three minutes of the attack beginning but kept firing even after being wounded, according to BBC News. He was arrested and taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound.
The dead were four women and two men, including three Polish citizens and one British citizen, while two victims had not yet been identified, according to BBC News. Fifteen people were injured, including five foreign nationals and two police officers, Senior Constable Jakub Kulik and Senior Constable Artur Moranski, one of whom was in a very critical condition. The gunman himself was also shot and wounded by police.
Police searching the suspect's home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, about 200 kilometres from Krakow, later found three more bodies, two women and a man, bringing the total death toll to nine, according to BBC News and Reuters. Police confirmed on Sunday that the three were the suspect's parents and sister. The suspect was wearing military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest and was carrying a military-grade weapon, and a cache of weapons and ammunition was found in his car.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said early inquiries pointed to far-right ideas behind the attack, describing the suspect as holding very radical and ultra-nationalist views, according to BBC News. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the attack as an act of terrorism, and police said the suspect acted alone, although the exact death toll could still change as the investigation continues.
Sources: BBC News; Reuters (via EuropeSays)