The 24 year-old man suspected of killing six people and injuring over a dozen others in Kraków, Poland, died in hospital local authorities announced early Monday morning.
“We would like to inform you that the perpetrator of the tragic events died early this morning at the hospital,” the Malopolska Police force disclosed in a brief social media statement.
Krzysztof Klęczar, the Voivode of Lesser Poland, also confirmed the man’s death to TVN24. According to Klęczar, the suspect died at around 04:30 a.m. (local time). The official added that, as of Monday morning, the injured individuals remain hospitalized and are receiving medical care across six hospitals in Kraków.
Local and international outlets have since identified the alleged gunman as Michał Oksiński, a resident of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
The 24-year-old Polish man is suspected of having opened fire on pedestrians at a Kraków market square on Saturday evening. The alleged gunman had been gravely wounded in a shootout with police forces and remained in critical condition at a local hospital in the hours after the incident.
Per the BBC, four of the six victims were Polish, one was a British national, while the sixth was an Austrian woman. The bodies of two women and a man were found at the suspect’s residence during a police search of the man’s residence.
According to local outlets, officials identified the bodies as those of the suspect’s parents and sister.
As Breitbart News reported, Internal Affairs Minister Marcin Kierwiński detailed over the weekend that the suspect, who resided in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, appeared to have been inspired by “far-right ideologies,” but noted that the matter still needed to be investigated.
Reuters observed on early Monday morning Polish government officials appear to “backtrack” from the earlier comments after opposition politicians questioned the grounds behind Kierwiński’s assertions on the suspect’s ideological motives.
Per Poland’s TVN24, Minister Kierwiński reiterated in remarks shared with the broadcaster on Sunday that the matter “would require verification.”
“I know that this is stirring up a lot of emotions, mainly on the right-wing side of the political scene,” Kierwiński said, emphasizing that it was not his intention to “stir up emotions at this time.”
“An investigation will be conducted into this matter, and all the threads will be clarified. I think it’s best to withhold comment until the investigation is complete and the services have all the information,” Polish government spokesman Adam Szlapka told TVN24.
“This unnecessarily raises a number of additional questions,” Szlapka reportedly added.
Speaking with TVP on Sunday night, Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek detailed that family-related problems cannot be presently ruled out as one of the presumptive motives behind the alleged gunman’s actions — stressing that authorities have collected “some evidence” in the hours after the shooting.
“Whether these motives were indeed family problems or whether the underlying cause was something entirely different, we do not know, but we cannot rule out these very motivations as the basis for such dramatic events,” Żurek reportedly said.
“I do not want to disclose details from the investigation, but we have certain evidence that sheds deeper light on this entire tragedy,” he continued.
Refering to Kierwiński’s remarks on the presumptive “far-right” inspiration behind the shooting, Żurek reportedly acknowledged there is no certainty this was the case — defending the Interior Minister on grounds that there is an “enormous” expectation placed on Kierwiński.
“So, in my opinion, the minister had grounds to provide such information at that moment. I will remain silent,” Żurek said.
A Polish Interior Ministry spokesperson reportedly stated on Monday morning emblems found on the suspect’s clothing have been subjected to examination and interpretation.
