Kraków square gunman killed six after slaying family at home, dies in hospital
Michał Oksiński, 24, shot dead six people in Kraków's main square on Saturday after killing his family at their home. He died in hospital on Monday.
Kraków attacker died after killing family and opening fire on tourists
Michał Oksiński, the 24-year-old gunman who opened fire on Kraków's main market square on Saturday, died in hospital at 4:30 a.m. on Monday, Polish police confirmed. As itv.com reports, prosecutors believe he had already shot dead his mother, father and sister at the family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski — roughly 150 kilometres northeast of Kraków — before driving to the city.
Six people were killed and 15 wounded in the attack on Kraków's Old Town square, a major tourist site in Poland's second-largest city. Several of the dead and wounded were foreign nationals.
Family killed before the rampage
Authorities found the bodies of Oksiński's sister, mother and father at the family home, all with apparent gunshot wounds. Prosecutors said he is believed to have killed them while they slept. Eleven weapons were recovered in total — seven at the family home and four, including two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, on Oksiński or in his car. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were also found. Oksiński and his father both held valid gun permits, and the attacker had trained at a local shooting club, which stated he had never received tactical or combat training there.
Radical views under investigation
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński described Oksiński as holding "very radical" and "ultranationalistic" views. Investigators are now working to establish whether he acted alone or was inspired or assisted by others.
"We are first of all investigating if he was inspired by anyone, if someone helped him," Eryk Stasielak of the Kraków branch of the national prosecutor's office told the Associated Press. "We have secured his electronic devices and we will try to open them and get to the contents."
Interior Ministry spokesperson Karolina Gałecka said authorities were examining symbols and patches found on Oksiński's clothing and at his home. Among the items found in his room was a yellow flag bearing a black snake — the Gadsden flag, which originated during the American Revolution and was later adopted by the US Tea Party movement.
'Lone actor' pattern seen across Europe
Oksiński arrived at the square dressed in military-style clothing and a bulletproof vest. His equipment closely resembled that used by other far-right lone actors in attacks across Europe and globally, according to Kacper Rekawek, a senior researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague.
"We have had attempts before, but now we can say that these kinds of attacks have become successful in Poland," Rekawek said. He also noted that even without a proven link to a series of knife attacks at schools in central Poland in mid-October — which left one person dead and many wounded — the incidents could be seen as part of "a series."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously attributed the school attacks to online "glorification of violence," describing them as acts of "nihilistic violence" driven by misanthropy rather than specific political aims. Mass shootings remain uncommon in Poland.
Officers hailed as heroes after being seriously wounded
Two police officers who responded to the attack have been widely praised. Senior officers Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański were on patrol when they were called to intervene. The first shot was fired within three minutes of the initial emergency report. Kulik, 24, continued firing at the attacker even after being shot himself; both officers sustained serious wounds.
"Senior police officers Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański are real heroes," Prime Minister Tusk wrote on X. "They most likely saved the lives of many human beings, without regard for the risk of losing their own lives."
Kulik was in critical condition, prompting authorities to issue an urgent appeal for blood donations. A fundraiser for the two officers and their families raised more than 6 million zlotys (approximately £1.2 million). Kraków's mayor announced that both officers would be named honorary citizens of the city. Two surgeons who happened to be in the area assisted in saving the officers' lives at the scene.
Victims included artists and a student
Among those killed was Izabela Woźna, a 53-year-old painter and mother of four, who had opened an exhibition of her work in Kraków the previous evening.
The Kraków Academy of Fine Arts confirmed that Magdalena Oksińska — the attacker's 21-year-old sister — had been a third-year student at the institution. An employee's sister was also reported to have been shot twice.
"Nothing will ever be like before. The delicate tissue of our academic community was painfully wounded," the academy said in a statement.
Architect Pavko Krajka described Magdalena Oksińska in a social media post as "an absolutely talented painter, photographer, poet and writer," adding: "Her death is a great loss for Kraków, Polish, European and queer culture."
Source: The Sun