Surgeon who was having lunch near Krakow's Main Market Square saved the life of a wounded police officer

The key facts

Six people were killed and 15 wounded in the shooting near Krakow's Main Market Square
Surgeon Mateusz Wierdac gave aid to a police officer with a gunshot wound to the chest before the ambulance arrived
Both wounded officers came out of their coma on Sunday; an investigation has been opened under terrorism charges

Shooting near the Main Market Square and aid at the scene

On Saturday, shortly before 3:00 p.m. local time, a man opened indiscriminate fire in the historic centre of Krakow; according to the police, the attack lasted about three minutes. Six people were killed — four Poles, a British citizen and an Austrian citizen — and 15 were wounded. The attacker, a 24-year-old Pole, was in full tactical gear and, according to descriptions, carried a military-style weapon; the government stated that he had never served in the Polish armed forces. This was reported by BBC News.

Surgeons who happened to be nearby

Professor Michał Pędziwiatr and Dr Mateusz Wierdac were having lunch with their families in central Krakow when they heard the gunshots. Pędziwiatr told the Fakt newspaper that his son ran up to him saying: 'Dad, they're shooting at people there, people are falling to the ground.' At the scene, the doctors gave aid both to the attacker and to the police officers: 'When it comes to saving lives, it doesn't matter who is who,' Pędziwiatr said. Wierdac attended to an officer shot in the chest: according to his colleague, he 'packed' the wound with bandages and worked with his hands, as the ambulance took a long time to arrive. Pędziwiatr insisted that the officer be hospitalised at the John Paul II Hospital, which has a thoracic and cardiac surgery department. 'He undoubtedly saved his life,' Pędziwiatr declared, calling Wierdac a hero.

The fate of the wounded officers and the investigation

The wounded police officers — senior constables Jakub Kulik and Arturo Morański — came out of their coma on Sunday. The Prime Minister called them 'true heroes' who prevented further casualties; the Mayor of Krakow filed an urgent motion to grant them honorary citizenship of the city. The prosecutor's office opened a case with the involvement of the counter-terrorism unit: earlier, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said that 'everything indicates' that the attacker 'was absorbed in far-right ideologies' and held ultranationalist views. During a search of the attacker's home, the bodies of his parents and sister were found; the authorities have not yet named the suspect, who is in critical condition.

Eyewitness accounts and volunteer assistance

According to eyewitnesses, panic and confusion reigned near the square. Ruby Catherine Warren from London said she heard the gunshots and 'shouted to her friends to run'; Tom Brook from West Yorkshire saw people looking for cover, and later — medics and a body covered with foil. It was separately reported that six volunteers from Dublin Civil Defence, who happened to be nearby during a city trip, immediately began helping the victims, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and stopping bleeding — organisation officer James McConnell told RTE News about this. On Sunday evening, after the cordon was lifted, the Main Market Square reopened to visitors.