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Surgeon’s quick action saves officer in Krakow shooting

During a mass shooting on Saturday in Krakow’s Main Market Square, two surgeons who were eating nearby rushed to the scene and treated the attacker and two police officers. Professor Michal Pędziwiatr and Dr Mateusz Wierdak, both senior surgeons at John Paul II Hospital, heard gunfire and immediately moved to the square. Pędziwiatr first treated the attacker and the wounded officers, while Wierdak focused on a senior constable who had been shot in the chest. Wierdak performed emergency chest bandaging and hands‑on care, a move the surgeons say was critical to the officer’s survival. The officer, identified as Jakub Kulik, emerged from a coma on Sunday after receiving intensive care. The attack, which lasted about three minutes, left six people dead and 15 injured, including a British national and an Austrian woman. Polish prosecutors have launched a terror investigation, citing far‑right ideology as a motive. The incident prompted the mayor to request honorary citizenship for the two injured officers.

· BBC News

The essential points

  1. 01Surgeons Pędziwiatr and Wierdak rushed to Krakow’s Main Market Square after gunfire, treating the attacker and two police officers.
  2. 02Wierdak performed emergency chest bandaging on a senior constable, a move deemed critical for the officer’s survival.
  3. 03Officer Jakub Kulik emerged from a coma on Sunday after intensive care at John Paul II Hospital.
  4. 04Polish prosecutors opened a terror investigation, citing far‑right ideology as the motive behind a three‑minute shooting that killed six.
The full brief

During a mass shooting on Saturday in Krakow’s Main Market Square, two surgeons who were eating nearby rushed to the scene and treated the attacker and two police officers. Professor Michal Pędziwiatr and Dr Mateusz Wierdak, both senior surgeons at John Paul II Hospital, heard gunfire and immediately moved to the square. Pędziwiatr first treated the attacker and the wounded officers, while Wierdak focused on a senior constable who had been shot in the chest.

Wierdak performed emergency chest bandaging and hands‑on care, a move the surgeons say was critical to the officer’s survival. The officer, identified as Jakub Kulik, emerged from a coma on Sunday after receiving intensive care. The attack, which lasted about three minutes, left six people dead and 15 injured, including a British national and an Austrian woman.

Polish prosecutors have launched a terror investigation, citing far‑right ideology as a motive. The incident prompted the mayor to request honorary citizenship for the two injured officers.