Polish investigators are examining two main theories about the motive of 24-year-old Michal Oksinski, who opened fire on people at Krakow’s Main Market Square on November 7. One is linked to far-right extremism, while the other concerns his alleged fixation on serial killers and serious attacks carried out in other countries.
Poland’s Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said that traces of visits to pages related to the mass killing carried out by Anders Breivik had been found on Oksinski’s computer. “We are currently actively investigating these two main hypotheses,” Zurek said, as quoted by Polish media.
According to him, investigators are also examining the possibility that Oksinski was obsessed with serial killers and tried to imitate “dramatic and tragic events” that occurred in Europe or other parts of the world. Investigators have not yet announced a definitive motive.
Six killed and 15 injured
Oksinski drove onto Krakow’s Main Market Square and fired at random passers-by. Six people were killed and 15 were injured, including two police officers. An Onet report gave the number of victims as 16 because it also included the attacker himself.
Oksinski was shot during the police intervention and died in hospital on November 9. According to data cited by the Associated Press, four weapons were found in Krakow – two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and two pistols.
More weapons and a silencer found
At his family’s home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, police found the bodies of his parents and his 21-year-old sister. Seven more firearms were seized there, bringing the total number of weapons found in connection with the case to 11.
A silencer was also found in Oksinski’s car. Zurek said this could help investigators determine how his family members were killed without the neighbors hearing gunshots.
A yellow flag bearing an image of a rattlesnake, known as the Gadsden flag, was found in the 24-year-old man’s room. Polish authorities are examining the significance of this symbol in the context of possible ideological motives.
The investigation is continuing despite Oksinski’s death. The main questions are whether he acted alone, what contacts he maintained, and whether he was influenced by specific perpetrators or ideologies. The definitive motive will be established after an analysis of the electronic devices, weapons, symbols and other evidence.
Sources: rmf24.pl, wiadomosci.onet.pl, wydarzenia.interia.pl