A British teenager injured in a mass shooting in Kraków, Poland, has been named as Harry Marchant, 19, from York. He is in stable condition after being shot during the Saturday attack that killed six people and injured 16 others.
The gunman, Michał Oksiński, 24, opened fire at the city's medieval market square, Rynek Główny, at about 3pm. Harry, from Haxby, was caught in the crossfire, his family said in a statement shared by police today.
'We are pleased to say he is now in a stable condition, receiving ongoing hospital treatment,' the family said. 'We can't express how grateful we are to the first responders, medical team and the people of Poland for their help and care for Harry. We ask for our privacy to be respected as we support Harry with his recovery.'
Club and community support
York City FC, the team that Harry supports, also paid tribute. 'Everyone at York City Football Club would like to send their love and support to young supporter Harry Marchant,' the club said on Instagram. 'We all would like to wish Harry a speedy recovery, and we hope to see him back at the LNER supporting us very soon.'
Those killed include three Polish women aged 47, 53 and 61, a Polish man in his 50s, a 32-year-old British man and a 51-year-old Austrian woman. One of the women was named locally yesterday as Izabela Woźna, 53, an artist and mother of four from Chodzież, a town in western Poland. She had opened a new art exhibition at a venue on Sławkowska Street, Kraków, on Friday.
'She derived a great deal of satisfaction from her art and painting,' Chodzież mayor Jacek Gursz told Poland's TVN24. 'She exhibited her work all over Europe. And she was certainly happy. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
Attack details and aftermath
Oksiński killed his sister and parents at his family's flat in Ostrowiec Świętokrzysk, a town 130 miles north east of Kraków, the night before. Magdalena, 21, was a third-year student at the Fine Arts Academy in Kraków, visiting for the weekend when her brother killed her.
Driving to Kraków in a black Subaru SUV, police say that Oksiński used a semi-automatic rifle to 'randomly' shoot at civilians in the tourist hotspot. Witnesses described hundreds of people fleeing from the square, sheltering in shops and cafes as the front window glass shattered. The mass shooting lasted three minutes, ending when an officer shot Oksiński.
Oksiński died in a hospital on Monday from gunshot wounds. The motive is still unclear. While raiding Oksiński's family's home, officers found seven firearms and a Gadsden flag – a yellow banner with a coiled rattlesnake and the phrase, 'don't tread on me', which is used by US right-wing movements. During the attack, the suspect wore military-style tactical gear, though officials say he has no ties to the army. Politicians have said Oksiński, who worked as a lathe operator, had 'far-right' and 'ultra-nationalist' beliefs.
Police prosecutors opened an investigation into the mass shooting on Monday, saying such attacks 'constitute a terrorist offence'. Locals described the alleged gunman to Fakt, a Polish tabloid newspaper, as an 'aloof' man who 'always' wore black. 'He's a little strange. He never spoke. If he did speak – which was rare – he'd just say hello,' one neighbour said. 'Otherwise, he'd keep his hood pulled over his head.'
