Kraków gunman dies in hospital; Poland marches in silence as terror probe widens to nine killings
Photo: Jan DeneThe gunman who killed six people in Kraków's Main Market Square on Saturday died in hospital early Monday, Polish police said, as the country began two days of national mourning and prosecutors widened their terrorism investigation to nine suspected killings.
Małopolska Police announced the death in a post on X: "We would like to inform you that the perpetrator of the tragic events died in hospital early this morning." The 24-year-old had been in critical condition since police shot and arrested him minutes after he opened fire from his car in the historic square on Saturday afternoon.
The dead in the square were four women and two men. Four were Polish, one was a 32-year-old British man and one was an Austrian woman, authorities said. Fifteen people injured in the attack remain in hospital; fourteen are in stable condition, while a police officer who helped stop the attacker remains in serious condition, Kraków Province Governor Krzysztof Kleczar told reporters.
Hours after the shooting, police searching the gunman's home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, about 150 kilometres northeast of Kraków, found the bodies of his father, 53, his mother, 52, and his sister, 21. Prosecutors said Sunday it was "highly likely" the same man killed them, and he is now suspected of nine killings in total. Autopsies on all nine victims were set to begin Monday.
Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has opened a terrorism investigation. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said the gunman "acted with the aim of seriously intimidating a large number of people, making this a terrorist offence," and Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the attack an act of terrorism — the deadliest shooting in Poland since the end of communism in 1989. With the suspect dead, there will be no trial, but Żurek said the investigation would continue to establish whether he acted alone or was inspired by any group.
Investigators have not yet established a motive. The government said the man, identified by prosecutors as 24-year-old Michał Oksiński from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, may have been inspired by far-right ideology, but officials stepped back from that claim on Monday. "Until the matter is fully clarified and the authorities are in possession of complete information, it is best to refrain from making comments, even if there are some initial indications," government spokesperson Adam Szłapka told TVN24. Prosecutors said a yellow Gadsden flag bearing the words "Don't tread on me" was found in his room, and that four firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition were found in his car and in his possession. Both the gunman and his father held gun permits, prosecutors said.
President Karol Nawrocki declared two days of national mourning for November 8 and 9, and Kraków will observe mourning until November 11. The president and the prime minister were to take part in a silent march through Kraków on Monday evening. The government said it will review the regulations on gun permits following the tragedy, and police said they were on high alert for potential copycats.
Sources: Reuters, "Poland plans silent march after Krakow mass shooting that shocked the nation" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified); CNN, "Gunman who killed at least 6 in Kraków mass shooting has died in hospital" (Nov. 9, 2026, full text verified). Event date verified: the gunman died early Monday, November 9, 2026; the attack took place Saturday, November 7, 2026, at about 3 p.m. local time in Kraków, Poland.
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