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 had been 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 police officers who were 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 said they had launched a terror investigation having previously said the 24-year-old Polish attacker – who remains in a critical condition – was 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.
