Krakow killer’s victims revealed – including his own sister who he executed with two
Two of the victims of a Polish gunman behind a deadly mass shooting in central Krakow have been pictured.
Gunman Michał Oksiński, 24, allegedly drove into the Polish city’s main square on Saturday and opened fire, killing six people and wounding 15 more, with several foreigners among the victims.
Authorities later found the bodies of his parents and sister at their family home on the outskirts of Krakow, with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Details on who his victims were have now emerged, with Polish authorities saying that four women and two men were killed in the shooting rampage.
Visual artist Izabela Woźna from Chodzież in Poland has been named as one of the people killed in the central Krakow shooting.
The 53-year-old had four children and was set to open an art exhibition in Krakow later this week.
Paying tribute to the mother, Chodzież Mayor Jacek Gursz said: ‘She derived a great deal of satisfaction from her art and painting. She exhibited her work all over Europe. And she was certainly happy. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
The mayor expressed his condolences to her family, saying: ‘It is with deep sadness that we received the news of Izabela’s death, which occurred in such dramatic circumstances. Today, our thoughts are with her family, loved ones and friends.’
Mother-of-four Izabela Woźna from Chodzież in Poland has been revealed as one of the victims in the Krakow shooting
The gunman’s sister Magdalena Oksińska was found dead in the family home alongside her parents
‘She had her own places, friends, daily affairs, plans and dreams. She was present in the lives of other people – and that is why her passing so deeply affects us, the residents of Chodzież,’ he added.
Mr Gursz announced that a concert in memory of Ms Woźna would be held in her home town on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a fundraiser has been set up to support her children.
Details on the gunman’s family, who authorities found in their beds with two gunshot wounds to their heads each, have also emerged.
The family lived in the town of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, in south-eastern Poland. His sister, a 21-year-old student at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, has been named locally as Magdalena Oksińska.
Neighbours described her as a ‘very talented girl’ who had always been a ‘good student and a beautiful painter’.
University professor at Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, Andrzej Bednarczyk, paid tribute to the young student, saying: ‘Nothing will be the same again.’
The extra-curricular activity centre in her hometown, which she had attended, described her as an ‘exceptionally gifted artist’ and a ‘sensitive, hard-working, modest and warm person’.
Michal Oksiński, pictured by local media, allegedly murdered his family before driving into the city’s historic Main Market square and opening fire on crowds, killing six more people
The young artist had previously had her work exhibited at the Ostrowiec Art Exhibition Office in 2024.
Her parents have not been named, but Polish media reported that her father was 53 and her mother 52.
The family’s two cats were also found dead in their home.
A 32-year-old British man was among the dead, the British Embassy in Poland confirmed, while an Austrian woman was also killed. Those wounded included people from Britain, Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
The attacker died in hospital on Monday morning. He had been in critical condition after being shot by police.
Two policemen – Artur Morański and Jakub ‘Kuba’ Kulik – who stopped the gunman remain in the hospital. Authorities described their actions as ‘heroic’.
They were both conscious, with Mr Morański emerging from a coma on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Mayor of Muszyna, Jan Golba, said Mr Morański’s first words after waking up from his coma were ‘Is Kuba alive?’.
‘Kuba is his partner in action,’ Mr Golba said.
In response, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X: ‘Moments like these restore faith in humanity.’
Footage has emerged showing the moment both officers exit their vehicle and begin shooting at the attacker near the square as he gets out of his car.
One of the officers falls to the ground, having been shot, while the second continues to aim at the gunman. The second officer then falls to the floor before being shot again by the attacker.
As the gunman collapses from his injuries, the first police officer bravely struggles to his feet and hobbles over to him, shooting him again before falling to the ground.
The gunman stays slumped on the ground before further help arrives at the scene.
The two officers have been hailed as heroes, with Mr Tusk saying: ‘They probably saved many human lives, disregarding the risk to their own.’
Polish justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, added that their rapid response ‘prevented further human casualties’.
Footage shows the heroic moment an injured police officer stumbles onto his feet to continue shooting the Krakow gunman
Images from the scene show the alleged gunman in military-style fatigues. The weapon, a rifle, lies on the ground nearby
Emergency personnel work at the site of the shooting near the main market square in Krakow
A woman cries as she mourns next to a makeshift memorial on Slawkowska street next to the Main Market
Poland’s Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said on Tuesday that the gunman had a fascination with a notorious Norwegian neo-Nazi mass killer.
The minister said that Mr Oksiński prepared for his gun rampage on Saturday by buying about 10 magazines for a semi-automatic rifle and 500 bullets.
‘It is clear that this individual was preparing to take action,’ Mr Zurek, who is also prosecutor general, told a press conference.
According to the minister, Mr Oksiński had looked up information on Anders Breivik, a Norwegian far-right radical who set off a car bomb in Oslo on July 22, 2011, that killed eight people, before he shot dead 69 others at a young socialist gathering on the island of Utoya.
‘Authorities have accessed the terrorist’s computer. It is clear that he visited websites concerning Anders Breivik,’ said Mr Zurek.
It comes after National Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Przemyslaw Nowak told a press conference on Monday that a yellow flag with a snake and the words ‘Don’t tread on me’ on it, known as the Gadsden flag, had been found in the gunman’s room. The Gadsden flag was first used during the American Revolution in the 18th century.
Mr Nowak said the flag was associated with ‘various meanings related to freedom or rebellion’ but was not widely known as being linked to any form of extremism.
An interior ministry spokesman said earlier on Monday that there were many different emblems on the perpetrator’s clothing that had already been partially examined and interpreted.
Authorities recovered 11 weapons from his car or home, including two AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, prosecutors said.
Mr Oksiński and his father held gun permits. He had trained at a local shooting club, which said in a statement that he ‘was never trained in our club in the areas of dynamic, tactical or combat shooting’.
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children. The attackers used knives or sharp objects, and some were said to be interested in the far-Right.
Prime Minister Tusk said that the school attacks were fuelled by the online ‘glorification of violence’.
He said that the acts could be associated with ‘nihilistic violence’, a term used by authorities to describe acts of violence driven by a nihilistic worldview and misanthropy rather than specific political goals.