They had just moved to get a coffee when, at the point where they had stopped a few moments before, the shots began. Umberto Orsini, a tourist from Bologna in Krakow with some friends, took to Instagram to tell the story of the shooting which left six dead and at least sixteen injured, including five foreigners.
«We were standing in front of Zara when I said to my friends: “Guys, come on, let’s go have a coffee at the Hard Rock”. A minute later, a shooting started right where we were”, writes Orsini, who arrived in the city to spend a carefree weekend.
The refuge in the room and the shock
The group sought shelter inside the room. “We took refuge in the room amidst the screams, going up to the upper floors from the emergency exit.” Only later, the tourist reports, did they learn of a man who was driving through the center and shooting into the crowd with a military-style rifle.
Once outside, the destroyed Zara shop window and a person on the ground appeared before their eyes, right where they were before walking away. «It was at that moment that tears came to my eyes. A minute was enough. Just one minute.”
Orsini says he is still in shock and addresses a thought to the victims, reflecting on “how thin the line is between still being there and no longer being there”.
The students of Albano Laziale are safe
At the time of the shooting, 34 students and three chaperones from a high school in Albano Laziale were also in the square. The Italian embassy in Poland intervened to secure them, sending the director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Krakow and the honorary consul. No one needed medical attention.
The return is entrusted to the group’s travel agency. If it is not possible to find room for everyone on the same flight, the return will be organized in groups, with the assistance of the Farnesina.