James Thomas Campbell, a 32-year-old DJ from Prestwick, South Ayrshire, died during a mass shooting in Poland, BBC News reported.
The attack unfolded shortly before 15:00 local time on November 7 in Krakow’s Main Market Square. A lone gunman drove a vehicle into the historic tourist spot and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. Armed officers arrived quickly, engaging the attacker in a gunfight and shooting him within three minutes of the assault.
Six people died in the central Krakow attack, including four Polish citizens and an Austrian woman. Police later discovered the bodies of the gunman’s parents and sister at his address in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, according to The Guardian. The 24-year-old attacker, identified by prosecutors as Michał Oksiński, died in hospital on November 9 from gunshot wounds sustained during the police response, BBC News reported.
Police Scotland confirmed it was providing specialist support to Campbell’s family alongside the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Formal identification of the victim remains pending.
“I had been speaking with him when he was headed over to Poland and I messaged him as soon as I heard about the terrible attack, to ask if he was safe – not for one minute expecting that he would have been caught up in it all,” said Mark Jewell, a close friend and fellow DJ.
He described Campbell as a quiet and kind person caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Fifteen other people sustained injuries during the rampage, including a second British man, Harry Marchant, who suffered a gunshot wound. North Yorkshire Police confirmed Marchant is in a stable condition and receiving hospital treatment.
Polish authorities initially suggested the attacker was inspired by far-right ideologies and described him as an ultra-nationalist. Przemysław Nowak, a spokesperson for Poland's National Prosecutor's Office, stated during a briefing that investigators are still determining the precise motive.
Prosecutors are treating the incident as a potential act of terrorism.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the shooting the deadliest in the country since the fall of communism in 1989. Tens of thousands of residents joined Poland’s president and prime minister for a silent march through Krakow to honor the victims.
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