Krakow: Police officers catch assassins and are celebrated as heroes

The exchange of fire between the two and the assassin can be seen from different perspectives on several cell phone videos. It's an unequal fight: the perpetrator shoots from a semi-automatic long gun, similar to an American AR-15 assault rifle. The police have guns. One of the two officers falls in the hail of bullets, as does the other. Then suddenly the shooter also falls, apparently hit. A policeman gets up and fires a few shots; the perpetrator rolls around in the street, then the policeman also collapses.

All three were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The police and military called for blood donations for the officers. Jakub Kulik has the rare blood type AB Rhesus+, it was said, and is fighting for his life. He had been hit by three bullets at close range. Artur Morański was shot in the chest area. Both men were operated on on Saturday and initially put into an artificial coma.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk also praised the efforts of the two injured police officers. They are true heroes, Tusk explained on Platform X. "They probably saved many lives while ignoring the risk to their own."

Six people were killed in the attack; in addition to the police officers, 13 other people and the perpetrator were injured. He remains in hospital in critical condition. The 24-year-old shot randomly from a car at passers-by in the market square of Poland's second largest city. The police believe it was a lone perpetrator and denied reports of a search for a possible accomplice.