Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has praised six members of the Dublin Civil Defence who rushed to help victims of a mass shooting in Kraków, calling them "our heroes" for their response. On Saturday 7 November, a masked gunman drove into Kraków's Main Market Square, a busy tourist destination in the historic city centre, and opened fire, killing six people and wounding about 15 others. Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz described the attack as an "act of terror".

The Dublin Civil Defence members were in Kraków on a city break when the shooting happened. Civil Defence officer James McConnell told RTÉ News that volunteers are trained to provide medical care, and said the group provided "CPR and haemorrhage control" to injured people. He said they initially thought they heard fireworks rather than gunshots and sought shelter, but once the gunman fled the scene, "they kicked into action". Dublin Civil Defence also paid tribute to its members, saying it was "very proud of them all".S1S2

Tusk, who is in Dublin for the European Political Community summit, thanked the group on social media, saying their "extraordinary response saved many lives". Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee also publicly thanked the members, saying the values and work they engage in at home "went straight into action in Kraków", and said she was glad they were safe while acknowledging the many innocent civilians caught up in the attack.S1S2

The gunman was critically wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police and taken into custody, dying in hospital on Monday. He is suspected of having killed nine people in total, after the bodies of three people, his parents and sister, were found at their home a two hours' drive from Kraków.S1