Two police officers have been hospitalised in critical condition in the Polish city of Wrocław after being shot in the head. The man arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack had posted videos online in which he threatened to kill police and expressed conspiratorial views, in particular relating to Jews.
The Centre for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behavior (OMZRiK), an NGO, claims that the individual in question expressed views typical of followers of a prominent extremist, Wojciech Olszański, who promotes such views.
“This is a broader phenomenon; there are more lone wolves spreading content calling for attacks on police, prosecutors, judges and bailiffs,” the centre told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. “We have hundreds of such recordings; these people are creating a network throughout Poland calling for the killing of officers.”
"Jeżeli policja będzie chciała się do mnie zbliżyć, otworzę ogień" – mówi na jednym z nagrań. #wyborczahttps://t.co/izYOwbSl5l
— Gazeta Wyborcza.pl (@gazeta_wyborcza) December 4, 2023
The incident in question took place on Friday evening when officers were transporting a man detained on an arrest warrant, reportedly because he was due to serve a six-month sentence for fraud.
According to media reports, the man shot both officers in the head. They were hospitalised in “critical and life-threatening condition”, said a statement from police. Poland has a relatively low level of gun ownership and violence involving firearms is rare.
Police launched a manhunt for the suspect, offering a 100,000 zloty (€23,000) reward. The man – who can only be named as Maksymilian F. under Polish privacy law – was then captured on Saturday and charged with attempted murder.
[AKTUALIZACJA} Dożywocie będzie grozić 44-latkowi, który ma usłyszeć zarzuty usiłowania zabójstwa dwóch policjantów. Maksymilian F. został zatrzymany w sobotę rano przez dolnośląskich funkcjonariuszy.https://t.co/W0X418AtMS
— tvn24 (@tvn24) December 2, 2023
It soon emerged that the suspect had published a large number of videos of himself on social media, including one in which he declared that “if the police try to get close to me, I will open fire”. He portrayed himself as a victim of the police, who he said were trying to present him as a criminal.
His Instagram and YouTube accounts, which remain online at the time of writing, contain a number of posts, videos and images – often very incoherent – pertaining to Jews, Israel, the US and Russia, as well as anti-LGBT content.
Gazeta Wybrocza reports that many of Maksymilian F.’s videos express pro-Russian and antisemitic views. In one, he talks of having to shoot someone at close range in the head to be sure of killing them.
Another of his films on Instagram appears to show him voting for candidates from Civic Coalition (KO), the main centrist opposition party, in recent parliamentary elections.
Hundreds of people joined a far-right march in the Polish city of Kalisz yesterday at which participants chanted “Death to Jews” and other antisemitic slogans https://t.co/jcPuVBmTCG
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 12, 2021
OMZRiK, which monitors extremist activity, told the newspaper that Maksymilian F.’s “content fits perfectly with the narrative of the so-called ‘comrades’ [kamraci]”, the name adopted by followers of Olszański, a far-right activist who regularly posts inflammatory content online.
Olszański became known for YouTube videos and other media appearances spreading violent rhetoric and conspiracy theories – many of which are antisemitic – and expressing support for Russia. In 2021, he was among three men arrested for organising a march in which participants chanted “Death to Jews”.
OMZRiK argues that the authorities do not take such online extremists seriously enough.
Police told Polsat that they have secured copies of Maksymilian F.’s films but could not provide further information on the course of their investigation. The interior minister, Paweł Szefernaker, issued a statement expressing sympathy with the families of the injured officers, who he said are being provided with support.
Jesteśmy myślami z ciężko rannymi funkcjonariuszami @PolskaPolicja, którzy walczą o życie w szpitalu. Ich rodziny są objęte wszelkim możliwym wsparciem. MSWiA i Państwo Polskie zawsze będą stały za funkcjonariuszami służb, którzy z narażeniem życia bronią bezpieczeństwa Polaków.
— Paweł Szefernaker 🇵🇱 (@szefernaker) December 2, 2023
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Main image credit: Policja Dolnośląska
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
