Kraków Main Square attack: police dispute media count of 128 officers on duty

The attack on the Main Square

On Saturday, 7 November 2026, a black Subaru drove onto the Main Square in Kraków at about 15:00, and its driver opened fire with an AR-15 rifle on passersby. Six people were killed and 15 were injured, among them two police officers who shot and detained the attacker after a chase toward Dietla street. The attacker, Michał O., 24, from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, died early on Monday, 9 November, in a Kraków hospital, according to Niezalezna.pl. Three bodies were found earlier at the family home, most likely those of his parents and sister.

Killed6

Injured15

Killed

6 people

Injured

15 people

Data from the article text

Police response on the square

A patrol car entering the square from Sienna street at 15:01 spotted the Subaru and began a pursuit. Crews already handling other calls were pulled into the response, and between 14:59 and 15:07 four police car crews reached the square: a traffic patrol, a three-person headquarters team, a patrol from Police Station I and a four-person prevention crew from the same unit. Police data show 12 patrols were sent out within the first 10 minutes and 20 after half an hour. In total, 1,167 officers were assigned to the incident. They searched for information on further threats, aided the wounded, secured the scene and worked in the area where the attacker was detained.

The 128-officer figure

On Wednesday, 11 November, Niezalezna.pl reported that 128 officers in 64 patrols had been on duty in Kraków on 7 November, citing data from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Kraków. The outlet added that 141 prevention officers from Kraków had travelled to Warsaw that day, and that between 14:30 and 15:00 only 10 officers in five mobile patrols covered the Old Town, with another on a fixed post at the consulates on Stolarska street.

Late on Wednesday, the force published a statement on its X profile at 22:15 rejecting the claim.

“The statement that only 128 officers were on duty across Kraków on 7 November is untrue.”

The police said the reporters' question concerned only officers of the prevention unit. A full count would also need operational officers of the city police headquarters, individual police stations and the provincial headquarters. The force said the number sent to Kraków was sufficient under the threat analysis for that day. It added that the exact number is confidential.

“However, due to the nature of their service, their exact number is confidential information.”

Niezalezna.pl's rebuttal

Niezalezna.pl said it had never written that 128 officers covered the whole city, and that its article explicitly referred to prevention patrols. The outlet published the full questions it sent and the police answers, arguing that it quoted the force's data faithfully. The police also responded to a broadcast by TV Republika on the same subject, describing the analysis behind the figure as "całkowicie błędna", or completely erroneous. The exact count of officers on duty remains unpublished, because the force classifies it.