A West Yorkshire man has described hiding in a McDonald's during a terror attack in Krakow's Main Market Square, Poland, where six people were shot dead, including a British national. Tom Brook said he heard "multiple gunshots and saw people running for cover" before taking refuge in the fast-food restaurant.
Attack in Main Market Square
The shooting occurred just after 3pm on Saturday (November 7) in the bustling Main Market Square, sending panicked crowds fleeing into nearby side alleys for cover. The gunman, armed with an automatic weapon, drove to multiple spots in the square and opened fire at each, according to authorities.
Brook recounted that while waiting for the shooting to stop, he stepped out and saw the driver of a tram who had been shot at after telling passengers to get off the vehicle. He said: "I then walked into the square and saw paramedics working on someone outside [a shop] and there was a dead body covered in foil blankets 20 meters away."
Escape and Aftermath
The police then ordered Brook and others to leave the square. He believes the group left on the same path the suspected shooter took during the attack. "I kept seeing people who'd been shot and eventually ended up walking past the attacker's crashed car where the shootout with police happened," he said.
Authorities have found three dead bodies at the 24-year-old suspected gunman's family home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 93 miles north-east of Krakow. Police said on Sunday they were the bodies of his sister, mother and father, and they are believed to have been shot.
Official Response
The suspected gunman, a 24-year-old Polish national, was believed to have been inspired by "far-right ideologies" and remains in hospital after being shot by police. Polish interior minister Marcin Kierwinski said the attacker held "very radical views" and "was fascinated by far-right ideologies".
Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz called Saturday's fatal shooting an "act of terror" on the people of Krakow. Local police have launched a blood appeal for officer Jakub Kulik, who is fighting for his life in hospital after confronting the armed attacker.
The FCDO is advising British nationals in Krakow to "follow the advice of local authorities and monitor local media". Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: "The UK Government deeply mourns the British national and other victims who have died after the appalling attack in Krakow. All of my deepest condolences go to the families of the victims. The UK stands resolutely in solidarity with the people of Poland."
Krakow mayor Lukasz Gibala said in a post on X the city would observe a period of mourning until November 11.
