One of two surgeons who treated victims on the streets in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Krakow, Poland said his colleague “undoubtedly” saved the life of a gravely injured police officer. The pair were eating near the city’s Main Market Square on Saturday when a gunman began firing at random, killing six people and injuring 15. The doctors raced to treat both the attacker and two officers shot while subduing the perpetrator. On Sunday, the officers – both hailed as “true heroes” by the prime minister for preventing further deaths – emerged from comas.
Prosecutors launched a terror investigation after ministers previously said the 24-year-old Polish attacker – who remains in a critical condition – was apparently inspired by “far-right ideologies”. A British national and Austrian woman were among those killed alongside four Poles. Professor Michal Pędziwiatr was having lunch with a colleague, named by local media as Dr Mateusz Wierdak, and their families in central Krakow when they heard gunshots. Pędziwiatr told the BBC: “We saw the shooting attack.
And what a surgeon can do in a situation like this?… We decided to help the victims as soon as possible. “We rushed into the area where the shooting was and started our rescue, because there were no ambulances available, there were no professionals around.” He said his colleague used his hand to stem the bleeding from the most injured policeman, allowing them to wait for an ambulance which transferred the officer to hospital. Pędziwiatr said they came to learn that one of those they treated was the apparent attacker.
“As a doctor… it doesn’t matter to me if it’s a victim or a suspect,” he said. “It’s not our task to decide what to do with this guy… for us, it was another heavily injured victim, that’s all.” According to local media, Wierdak is a renowned surgeon in Krakow. The University Hospital in Krakow states Pędziwiatr is head of General, Oncological, Metabolic and Emergency Surgery. The police officers have been identified as senior constables Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański.
The attacker has not yet been named by authorities. When his house was searched after the attack in central Krakow, the bodies of his parents and sister were found. The National Public Prosecutor’s Office in Poland launched an investigation into the attack with a unit specialising in “terrorist offences” taking the lead. Separately, reports emerged that six Dublin Civil Defence volunteers also assisted in the aftermath of the shooting.
James McConnell, an officer, told RTE News the group were on a city break and were close to the main square, external when the shooting happened. The volunteers who are trained to provide medical care immediately sought to help injured people, providing “CPR and haemorrhage control”. Witnesses who were close to the attack described panic and confusion around the square as it unfolded. Ruby Catherine Warren, from London, heard gunfire and “yelled at my friends to run and we all sprinted for our lives”.
Not knowing where the gunman was – or if there was more than one – they “just kept sprinting”, eventually finding a hotel to hide inside. Tom Brook, from West Yorkshire, was inside a McDonald’s near the square when he heard “multiple gunshots and saw people running for cover”. “I then walked into the square and saw paramedics working on someone outside [a shop] and there was a dead body covered in foil blankets 20 meters away,” he said. The suspect wore full military tactical gear during the attack and was described as having a military-grade weapon – but the government said he was not a member of the Polish armed forces.
Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said “everything suggests” the suspect was “fascinated by far-right ideologies” and held ultra-nationalist views. The rampage began shortly before 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Saturday in the historic centre of Krakow. Footage showed the attacker’s vehicle speeding through the centre of the city, and people fleeing as the sound of gunfire rang out. The glass fronts of shops were shattered by bullets and a tram was shot at during the attack, which police say lasted for around three minutes.
The mayor of Krakow said he had submitted an urgent request for the two officers injured while stopping the attacker to be awarded titles of honorary citizens of the city. Main Market Square reopened on Sunday evening after a security cordon was lifted. What we know so far after Krakow gun attack Wounded police officers ‘saved many lives’ ‘I saw ambulances and armed police’: BBC correspondent in Krakow Moment police officer appears to shoot Krakow suspect
