Poland Experiences First Mass Shooting. Was the Shooter Inspired by 'Far-Right Ideology'?

Poland experienced its first-ever mass shooting on Saturday, and mainstream outlets have reported the shooter appeared to be influenced by "far-right ideology," though Polish officials have since walked back the claim.

The Shooting: Michał Oksiński, a 24-year-old Polish man, shot and killed nine and wounded more than a dozen in the center of Kraków on Saturday. Police shot and arrested Oksiński, who reportedly died from his wounds in a hospital early on Monday. Police found his mother, father, and sister dead at his home later on Saturday. When the shooting happened, two surgeons were reportedly eating nearby and rushed onto the scene to administer aid to Oksiński and two injured police officers.

'Far-Right Ideology': Following the shooting, Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński told reporters, "Everything points to the fact that the shooter was influenced by far-right ideology, a matter that will also be subject to investigation." Later, on a news program, Kierwiński said, "Everything indicates that the perpetrator acted alone and held very radical views." When pushed on the unverified nature of the claim and asked about the reason for his claim, he said, "As I said, these are things that are now being checked by the police, and the evidence material that is at the disposal of the police, and I will not expand on that now." Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also urged patience and told Polish radio, "Evidence is ​being collected, ​but I will not ​show or disclose it. I ask for restraint."

Mainstream Coverage: Many major mainstream English-language outlets from the left and center, including Reuters (Center), BBC News (Center), The Guardian (Left), Associated Press (Lean Left), Washington Post (Lean Left), and NBC News (Lean Left), prominently described Oksiński as "far-right" based on Kierwiński's comments. Fox News (Right) noted the minister's claim later in its coverage but expressed skepticism and noted that "investigators have not publicly established a motive for the attack." Many outlets continued with the "far-right" framing on Sunday and Monday after Kierwiński and Żurek made their follow-up comments. The New York Times (Lean Left) reported on Sunday night, however, that "local residents were not buying" that "far-right" claim. One man who had seen Oksiński around in his neighborhood said, "He wore a black hoodie and painted his nails black, but does that mean anything? Claims of a political attack is just empty talk."

Possibly 'Ultraleft-wing': Hungarian Conservative (Lean Right) highlighted skepticism and conflicting reporting from Polish officials and media. A police source told popular Polish paper Rzeczpospolita on Sunday that police had discovered materials that indicated Oksiński "may be ultraleft-wing." The source urged caution in determining if the shooting was political and said, "He was simply eliminating people." Prosecutor Piotr Sokół told Polish tabloid Super Express, "We have no information indicating that any evidence has been uncovered pointing to any active involvement, generally speaking, in any political or extremist activity." Friends of Oksiński told Polish television, "He didn't have any tendencies that you could actually call right-wing," and "He was quite… emotional when it came to all kinds of failures and setbacks. I remember he was very easily offended."

Political Context: The shooting comes at a particularly politically fragile time for Poland. The country has been locked in a constitutional crisis and dispute between Prime Minister Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and the populist conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, an ally of the independent President Nawrocki. Most recently, on October 30, police were deployed to the country's top court while Nawrocki was on a trip abroad, an escalation PiS described as an attempted "coup." On Tuesday, in Poland, the annual Independence March will take place – a demonstration that mainstream media have previously framed as a significant event for some with "far-right" views.

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