Prosecutor Eryk Stasielak of the National Prosecutor’s Office said Monday that the death of the perpetrator of Saturday’s attack on Kraków’s Main Square (Rynek Główny) does not halt the investigation; his motives and possible connections will be examined. Lesser Poland police reported earlier that the man died in the hospital early Monday.
– This morning we received information from the hospital about this man’s death. We were informed by the hospital, and further information will be provided by the prosecutor’s office – the Lesser Poland police press team told PAP. As Lesser Poland police spokeswoman Katarzyna Cisło clarified to PAP, Michał O. died at about 4:30 a.m. His condition had been described as critical from the start.
Lesser Poland Voivode Krzysztof Jan Klęczar also told RMF24 that the attacker died in one of Kraków’s hospitals, adding that the information was confirmed by the Provincial Emergency Medical Services Coordinator.
– From the moment he arrived at the hospital, the injured man’s condition was serious, described as critical. Despite several operations – we know there were at least three surgical procedures – his death was declared at 4:30 a.m., and that is the information I can confirm – the voivode said.
He said that 15 people injured in the attack are still in six Kraków hospitals. Fourteen are in stable condition, and one person, one of the wounded police officers, is in serious condition.
According to Prosecutor Eryk Stasielak of the National Prosecutor’s Office, which is leading the investigation into the Kraków attack and the killing of three people in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, the death of the perpetrator of Saturday’s attack on the Main Square does not affect the prosecutors’ planned actions. Investigators will examine, among other things, the attacker’s motives and his possible connections.
He explained that the man’s death does, however, mean that procedural steps aimed directly at him will be dropped, including presenting him with charges and imposing any preventive measures.
– In all other respects the proceedings will continue, because we are at an early stage. The proceedings have been under way for less than 24 hours, and there is a great deal of evidence to analyze – Stasielak said.
He added that prosecutors will question all the witnesses who have been identified, and investigators will gather and analyze evidence, including evidence concerning the perpetrator’s motives and his possible connections.
The investigation is being conducted by the Lesser Poland branch of the National Prosecutor’s Office. It concerns Saturday’s attack on the Main Square in Kraków and the killing of three of the attacker’s closest family members in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. According to investigators’ findings so far, both acts were committed by the same person.
Autopsies of the six victims of the Kraków attack and the three people murdered in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski are set to begin Monday morning. As Prosecutor Stasielak told PAP, the examinations may take two days because of the complex nature of the gunshot wounds. The suspect’s death does not change plans to carry out the autopsy.
Before the attacker’s death, prosecutors had said they would analyze the evidence with a view to presenting him with charges and possibly asking a court for pretrial detention. His condition was described at the time as critical.
The attack took place Saturday on the Main Square in Kraków. A 24-year-old man drove a car onto the square and then opened fire with an automatic weapon on random people. Six people were killed and 16 were wounded, including two police officers. The perpetrator was shot. In the attacker’s family apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, police found the bodies of three members of his immediate family. (PAP)
