They were leaving the restaurant when shots were fired. Krakow surgeons saved the injured policemen and the attacker

Saturday, November 7, just after 15. It was then that dramatic events took place in Krakow. It all started on the Main Square. A series of shots were fired from the black Subaru that drove onto the tarmac. 6 people died. The attacker - a 24-year-old from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski - injured 15 others.

The car in which Michał O. was escaping collided on the corner of ul. Stradomska and Dietla with another car. The attacker ran out of the Subaru and shots were fired at the policemen who were chasing him. He injured two officers. He was also hit.

"Dad, they shoot at people there and they fall to the ground."

The end of this chase was seen by Dr. Mateusz Wierdak and prof. Michał Pędziwiatr – renowned surgeons from the University Hospital in Krakow. They ate dinner with their families at a nearby restaurant.

We had lunch at a restaurant, right at the intersection of Dietla and Stradomska streets. Me with my wife and four children. Mateusz with his wife and three children. We went outside. We were already saying goodbye. Suddenly my son shouts, "Dad, they're shooting at people there and they're falling to the ground." We took shelter in a pharmacy and witnessed an exchange of fire between the police and the attacker. When the shots stopped, Mateusz and I ran to the wounded," says Prof. in an interview with "Gazeta Krakowska". Michał Pędziwiatr.

As described by prof. Pędziwiatr, the perpetrator who was escaping in a car, after colliding with another car, jumped out of the vehicle and started shooting. Despite his wounds, one of the policemen continued to overpower the attacker.

A random driver was in the attacker's line of fire

When providing help, it is not based on who is the perpetrator and who is from the services. Two policemen were conscious, in superficial contact with gunshots to the chest. The perpetrator was also conscious, he said what hurt him, he had gunshot wounds to the stomach, thigh and chest - describes prof. Roadrunner.

The doctor described that an accidental car driver was also injured at the scene, who was in the attacker's line of fire and suffered a head injury. According to the surgeon, his condition was also serious.

A large number of policemen and city guards appeared immediately, it was really fast. It's nonsense that there were no additional forces on site. They started to cordon off the area, take control of the situation, help us and other people caring for the injured, emphasizes the doctor in an interview with "Gazeta Krakowska".

Dr. Mateusz Wierdak took care of one of the injured policemen, covering him with his coat and dressing his wounds. Other policemen gave us handy bandages because the most important thing was to control the bleeding. I took care of the other two injured people, but it wasn't like the two of us were there alone to help. There was a policeman with medical training who recognized us as surgeons. There was also a doctor. We all worked together - says prof. Roadrunner.

The injured were taken to hospitals

Thanks to their knowledge of Krakow's medical realities, the surgeons made sure that the injured went to the right facilities. One of the policemen was sent to the John Paul II Hospital, the other to the Narutowicz Hospital, and the bomber and another injured person - to the University Hospital. The man with facial wounds was taken to the hospital. Rydygiera.

John Paul II Hospital is not the first hospital to be considered in such cases, but I knew that the injured policeman there would have the best chance of survival. I called the doctor on duty and they behaved excellently there, they started opening the operating theater and ordered the injured person to be brought there directly - recalls Prof. Roadrunner.

We did what anyone with medical training would do in our place, we do not consider ourselves heroes - summed up Michał Pędziwiatr.

Two people have already been discharged from hospitals

16 injured people were taken to six hospitals in Krakow. One person is in a serious condition and the perpetrator is in a critical condition. Two injured people have already been discharged. According to Krzysztof Klęczar, voivode of Lesser Poland, the injured included 11 Poles and five foreigners.