Surgeon having lunch near Krakow shooting undoubtedly saved officer's life, colleague says

Published8 November 2026, 13:40 GMT

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 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 and Dr Mateusz Wierdak were having lunch in central Krakow with their families when they heard gunshots, local media reported.

"Suddenly my son ran up and said: 'Dad, they're shooting at people there, people are falling to the ground'," Pędziwiatr told news outlet Fakt.

Pędziwiatr said when they got to the scene, they treated both the apparent attacker and the police officers.

"When it comes to saving lives, it doesn't matter who is who," he added.

Once the shooting stopped, Pędziwiatr said he took care of the other victims and the perpetrator, while Wierdak began working on the police officer who was shot in the chest during the gunfight.

"He, to put it colloquially, stuffed all the bandages into [the police officer's] chest and stuck his hands in," he told Fakt.

"If not for that, I don't know how things would have turned out, as there was a long wait for the ambulance."

Meanwhile, Pędziwiatr said he called John Paul II Hospital where the Department of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery is located.

"I insisted they take him there because, in my opinion, he had the best chance of survival there, where there were specialists for precisely this type of injury," he told Fakt.

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.

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