New footage has shown two Polish police officers confronting a gunman during a shooting in Krakow which left nine people dead, including a British man. The attacker was shot during the exchange and later died in hospital.
The 25-year-old suspect, identified locally as Michal Oksiński, allegedly killed his parents and sister at their home before driving a black Subaru into the city’s historic Main Market Square on Saturday afternoon.
He is then alleged to have opened fire with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, killing six people in the crowded square and injuring at least 15 others, including two police officers.
Video of the confrontation shows Senior Constables Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański getting out of their vehicle and firing at the attacker as he emerged from his car.
One officer appears to fall after being shot, while his colleague continues aiming at Oksiński. The second officer then falls as the gunman fires again.
As the attacker collapses from his injuries, the first officer struggles back to his feet and moves towards him, firing again before falling to the ground. The gunman remains slumped at the scene until further help arrives.
Both officers were taken to hospital in critical condition. One was earlier reported to have been shot three times and to have undergone surgery.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the officers “probably saved many human lives, disregarding the risk to their own”. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said their rapid response “prevented further human casualties”.
Police confirmed that Oksiński died in hospital early on Monday. In a statement, they said: “We would like to inform you that the perpetrator of the tragic events died in hospital early this morning.”
Krakow shooting investigated as a terrorist offence
Four women and two men were killed in the attack at the market, according to police commander Marek Boron. Three of those victims were Polish and one was British. The bodies of three of the suspect’s relatives were later found at his home.
The gunman, who came from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in south-eastern Poland, was wearing military-style green fatigues and what appeared to be a helmet and body armour. Several guns were found in the car, according to the interior minister.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into what it described as the killing of six people with a firearm and the attempted murder of many others, including police officers, “this act constituting a terrorist offence”.
The interior minister said Oksiński was likely to have been inspired by far-Right ideologies and held “very radical views”. Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz described the shooting as a terror attack but denied reports that the suspect had been a soldier.
Oksiński was a member of the Świt Starachowice sports shooting club and had visited its range twice this year, according to a club spokesperson. The club said he had received no training there in dynamic, tactical or combat shooting and had not displayed concerning behaviour.
The club said it was co-operating fully with investigators and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
