Street surgeon’s quick action kept wounded officer alive after Krakow shooting
A doctor who treated a police officer on the pavement credited his colleague’s improvised chest care for saving his life.
By Carlos Rousseau ·
Two surgeons working the streets of Krakow treated a police officer shot in the chest during a mass shooting that killed six people on Saturday.
Professor Michal Pądziwiatr said his son alerted him to the gunfire near Main Market Square. He described the scene as chaotic, with people falling to the ground while he and Dr. Mateusz Wierdak rushed to aid the wounded. They treated the 24-year-old attacker and two officers who were shot while subduing him. Pądziwiatr noted that when lives are on the line, the identity of the patient does not matter.
Once the shooting stopped, Wierdak focused on the officer hit in the chest. Pądziwiatr explained that Wierdak packed bandages into the wound and placed his hands inside to control the bleeding. He said this immediate intervention was likely the reason the officer survived, given the long wait for an ambulance to arrive.
Pądziwiatr, who heads surgery at Krakow's University Hospital, coordinated the officer's transfer. He called John Paul II Hospital and insisted the patient be taken to the thoracic and cardiac surgery department for specialized care. Wierdak is described by local media as a renowned surgeon in the city.
The two officers, senior constables Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański, emerged from comas on Sunday. Poland's prime minister called them true heroes for preventing further deaths. The mayor of Krakow requested they be made honorary citizens of the city.
The attacker remains in critical condition and has not been named. Prosecutors launched a terror investigation, stating he was inspired by far-right ideologies. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said evidence suggests the suspect held ultra-nationalist views. When police searched his home, they found the bodies of his parents and sister. The government confirmed the man, who wore military tactical gear, was not a member of the armed forces.
The rampage began shortly before 15:00 local time on Saturday and lasted about three minutes. Bullets shattered shopfronts and struck a tram. The dead included a British national, an Austrian woman, and four Poles. Six Dublin Civil Defence volunteers assisted with CPR and hemorrhage control. Main Market Square reopened on Sunday evening after the security cordon was lifted.
