ethan.brook News Editor
We would like to inform you that the perpetrator of the tragic events died in hospital early this morning,
the Provincial Police Headquarters in Kraków announced in a statement on Monday.
The 24-year-old Polish national suspected of carrying out a deadly mass shooting in Poland’s historic city center died in the hospital after being critically wounded in a firefight with law enforcement, authorities said. The incident, which prosecutors are treating as a terrorist offense, left six people dead and 15 others injured in the country’s second-largest city.
The Attack in the Main Market Square
The violence began at about 3 p.m. local time on Saturday when the assailant drove a vehicle into the Main Market Square in Kraków’s Old Town. Dressed in military-style clothing and wearing a bulletproof vest, the attacker used an automatic weapon to indiscriminately fire at people from his moving car.
Informujemy, że sprawca tragicznych wydarzeń zmarł dzisiaj nad ranem w szpitalu.
During the rampage, he struck a tram, shattered a driver’s cab window, and continued firing before his vehicle crashed near the intersection of Dietla and Stradomska streets. He then exited the car and engaged pursuing officers in a firefight.
Social media footage showed an armed officer approaching the suspect and firing multiple times before collapsing to the ground. Police reported that 2 minutes and 3 seconds elapsed between the start of the pursuit and the final exchange of gunfire.
Authorities recovered four firearms at the scene, while investigators later seized additional weapons from the suspect’s family home, bringing the total number of recovered firearms to 11. Police identified the weapon used in the square as an AR-15 rifle and found a military-style backpack, magazines, and a bayonet in the boot of his car.
Six People Died Including Four Polish Citizens
The shooting left six people dead in the square—four women and two men. Among the deceased were four Polish citizens, including three women aged 47, 53, and 61, and a 50-year-old man. Foreign nationals were also among the victims, including a British national and an Austrian woman whose husband was among those injured.
Prokurator z małopolskiego wydziału PZ PK wszczął dziś śledztwo w sprawie wczorajszego zamachu w Krakowie. Śledztwo obejmuje: – zabicie 7 listopada 2026 r. w Krakowie przy użyciu broni palnej 6 osób oraz usiłowanie zabójstwa wielu innych osób, w tym funkcjonariuszy Policji,…
Fifteen people were initially reported injured in the square, including two police officers. Senior constable Jakub Kulik sustained serious injuries while confronting the gunman and was hospitalized in critical condition, prompting local police to launch a blood donation appeal. Five foreign nationals from Britain, Austria, Germany, Portugal, and Russia were among the wounded.
Family Tragedy Discovered in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
Hours after the shooting in Kraków, authorities searched the suspect’s family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers northeast of Kraków, according to Kyoutv. Inside, police discovered the bodies of the suspect’s 53-year-old father, 52-year-old mother, and 21-year-old sister. Investigators stated the three family members likely died from gunshot wounds.
The suspect’s sister, Magdalena Oksińska, was a 21-year-old artist and a third-year student at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Professor Andrzej Bednarczyk, the academy’s rector, released a statement mourning her death and describing her as a member of the academic community whose life was cut short. Architect Pavko Krajka remembered her on social media as a talented painter, photographer, poet, and writer.
Motive and Investigation
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stated that investigators believe the gunman held radical, ultranationalist views and was fascinated by far-right ideologies. However, officials emphasized that a definitive motive had not yet been established. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime began analyzing the attacker’s electronic devices and online activity to determine if he acted alone or had outside help.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled to Kraków in the wake of the attack and noted that the country had not previously experienced such drastic acts of terrorism.
Earlier coverage: Six Dead and 15 Wounded in Kraków Shooting