Krakow Gunman, Linked to Far-Right Extremism, Showed Fascination with Breivik's Neo-Nazi Killings

Bullet holes are visible in a coffee garden window at Krakow's Main Market Square in Poland, November 9, 2026. A Polish man who fatally shot six people in the city's main square on Saturday had visited websites dedicated to Norwegian white-supremacist killer Anders Behring Breivik, according to Poland's justice minister. Waldemar Zurek stated on Tuesday that evidence strongly suggests right-wing extremism motivated the gunman's actions, which shocked the nation on November 7. Investigators also discovered a Gadsden flag among the suspect's belongings. This flag, featuring a rattlesnake on a yellow background and originating from the US Civil War era, is frequently associated with the US far right, the minister noted. Prosecutors identified the suspect as Michal Oksinski, a 24-year-old factory worker. He passed away in the hospital on Monday after being shot and apprehended by police shortly after he allegedly opened fire from his car in Krakow's historic main square, a popular tourist spot. Zurek confirmed that a silencer, a device used to reduce firearm noise, was found in the car used by the perpetrator. The bodies of Oksinski's father, mother, and sister were discovered in their family residence on Saturday, and officials believe they were also victims of Oksinski. In July 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik murdered eight people with a car bomb in Oslo before shooting and killing 69 others, predominantly teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp on Utoeya island.

'Blatant lie'

The suspect's motives have ignited a contentious political debate. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski asserted on Saturday, mere hours after the incident, that the gunman was influenced by far-right ideology. However, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the nationalist opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, dismissed Kierwinski's statement as a "blatant lie," and government officials appeared to retract their claims on Monday. Michal Wojcik, a right-wing PiS lawmaker, expressed outrage over Justice Minister Zurek's remarks, telling Reuters news agency, "In my view, representatives of the Polish government are acting dishonestly toward the international community." Kierwinski, speaking to public radio on Tuesday, maintained his original statement, indicating he was awaiting the investigators' findings.