Poland Unites in Silent March for Krakow Shooting Victims as Motive Remains Unclear

On Monday night, thousands of people walked in silence through central Krakow. At their head were Poland's president and prime minister, bitter political rivals who rarely appear side by side. They were marching for those killed and wounded on Saturday, when a gunman went on a rampage in what is now the country's deadliest attack in modern times. When the procession reached the historic Market Square, a bugler played from the tower. Many marchers carried flowers or candles for the small shrines that now dot the cobblestones, one at each spot where someone died.

Local media have named the alleged gunman as 24-year-old Michal Oksinski. He was critically injured in a shoot-out with police, never regained consciousness, and died in hospital early on Monday. Investigators say he is alleged to have shot his parents and sister at the family home, where their bodies were found, before driving about 200km (125 miles) south to Krakow. Six victims were killed or injured in the square. One has been identified as a Polish painter in her 50s, a mother of four, who was in town with friends for an exhibition opening. A British citizen and an Austrian who died have not yet been publicly named. A local man in his 50s died outside a Zara shop, whose windows were smashed by bullets and which remains boarded up. Several drivers of the horse-drawn carriages that wait for tourists were seriously hurt.

The question of motive is far from settled. At first the interior minister said Oksinski was driven by far-right extremist views. The national prosecutor's office now says it is too soon to say he was inspired by any ideology. Dr Pawel Musialek of the Jagiellonian University accused the minister of seeking domestic political points, calling that irresponsible in a country where politics is often viciously polarised. He added that there has been no clear sign of strong ideology, and that the case may be closer to something from the darknet. No letter or manifesto has been mentioned. One neighbour told the news site Onet that Oksinski was a bit of a loner, but few people who knew him well have spoken publicly.

Investigators are examining his phone and other electronic devices, along with several badges attached to his military-style outfit. Prosecutors say a yellow Gadsden flag with a coiled snake was displayed in his bedroom. A spokesman stressed that it carries various meanings of freedom and rebellion, not necessarily negative ones.

His car held four firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, all legally owned by him and his father. Both belonged to the Swit Starachowice sports club, which has a shooting range. A club spokesman remembered Michal as unremarkable, with average competition results and normal behaviour. He had visited just three times this year, most recently in August with his father. The spokesman insisted the club teaches only fixed-point shooting, not combat firing. Gun ownership in Poland has grown considerably since the war began in neighbouring Ukraine, but nobody in the country can remember a mass shooting before this one. Oksinski had passed every check, including psychological tests, and on Monday the government announced an urgent review of the system.

Two days on, shops and cafes around the square are filling up again, though the mood is subdued. People pause to photograph the bullet holes in a wall. Jo, a Scottish tourist, saw paramedics reach the dying man ridiculously fast; she called it all pretty grim and said she first mistook the shots for fireworks. Olha, who works in a nearby chocolate shop, watched people rush in to escape the gunman, who was firing from his car window. A Ukrainian who moved to Krakow when Russia invaded, she said she had left home for safety and that this was supposed to be a safe place. She regrets that he did not survive, because there will now be no justice.

Another memorial stands where police intercepted his car and shot him, this one for officers still in hospital. A girl named Bianka left a card thanking the policemen and wishing them well. Ania praised officer Jakub Kulik, shot in the chest and still in serious condition, as a hero who did not hesitate. A young man, Wojtek, said he was relieved the gunman was Polish, since attitudes to immigration are already hostile. Ania believes Poles will recover, though the country's image as a low-crime oasis is broken. Mostly she is angry that Oksinski died without explaining himself. We deserve to know why, she said. The licensing review and the examination of his devices are the next places that answer might come from.