This is the moment a hero policeman stopped a ‘far-Right’ Polish gunman’s rampage that left a British man and eight others dead in Krakow.
The 25-year-old suspect allegedly murdered his parents and sister at home before driving into the city’s historic Main Market Square and opening fire on Saturday afternoon, killing six more people.
At least 15 others, including two police officers, were injured in the shooting, described by Prime Minister Donald Tusk as a ‘truly exceptional tragedy’.
The gunman, a Polish citizen identified locally as Michal O, was wounded during a shootout with the two officers shortly after the attack and was hospitalised.
Senior constables Jakub Kulik and Artur Morański were rushed to hospital in critical condition, both now stable but in serious states.
Newly emerged footage shows the moment both officers exit their vehicle and begin shooting at the attacker near the square as he gets out of his car.
One of the officers falls to the ground, having been shot, while the second continues to aim at the gunman.
The second officer then falls to the floor before being shot again by the attacker.
As the gunman collapses from his injuries, the first police officer bravely struggles onto his feet and hobbles over to him, shooting him again before tumbling down.
Footage shows the heroic moment an injured police officer stumbles onto his feet to continue shooting the Krakow gunman
The two police officers and the alleged gunman all lie on the ground after sustaining serious injuries
Previous footage showed a brave police officer approaching the person believed to be the shooter
An image taken from footage of the attack appears to show the alleged attacker’s face
The gunman stays slumped on the ground before further help arrives at the scene.
The attacker, from Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in the country’s south-east, had driven a black Subaru into the crowded square before randomly firing a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle at around 3pm local time.
He was dressed in military-style green fatigues and what appeared to be a helmet and body armour.
Four women and two men died at the market. Three of the dead were Polish and one was British, Polish police commander Marek Boron said.
The bodies of three of the suspect’s relatives, believed to be his parents and sister, were subsequently discovered at his home.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Sunday that it had opened an investigation into the attack.
It said the inquiry concerned ‘the killing of six people… using a firearm, and the attempted murder of many others, including police officers, this act constituting a terrorist offence’.
The gunman was likely inspired by ‘far-Right ideologies’ and had ‘very radical views’, Poland’s interior minister said, adding ‘many guns were found’ in the car he was driving.
Images from the scene show the alleged gunman in military-style fatigues. The weapon, a rifle, lies on the ground nearby
Emergency personnel work at the site of the shooting near the main market square in Krakow
Police examine a vehicle after starting an investigation into the fatal shooting
People inside a shop at the site of the shooting near the main market square, with broken glass littering the floor
Police officers cordon off an area near the Main Market Square following the mass shooting
One of the officers involved in the gunfight was earlier reported to have been shot three times and undergone surgery.
The suspect was a member of the Świt Starachowice sports shooting club, a spokesperson confirmed, saying he had visited its shooting range twice this year.
The club said its activities focused on static sport shooting and that the suspect had never received training there in dynamic, tactical or combat shooting.
It added that he had not exhibited any concerning behaviour and said it was cooperating fully with the authorities, providing all necessary materials and information.
‘We deeply regret this incident and offer our condolences to the families of the victims,’ the spokesperson said.
Despite dressing in military clothing, Poland’s defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz denied reports the gunman was a soldier.
He described the shooting as a ‘terror attack’ and called for unity.