British tourist recalls fear during Krakow gun attack

A British tourist who took refuge inside a Krakow basilica as a gunman opened fire has recalled fearing the packed church would have become his next target.

Six people were killed - including a British national - and several others injured when a gunman opened fire in central Krakow, Poland's second largest city, on Saturday.

Jonathan Balshaw, from Ipswich, Suffolk, was visiting the city with his girlfriend on a surprise trip for his 30th birthday.

The couple had been walking back to their accommodation through the city centre when they heard a series of loud bangs and all the pigeons in the square took flight.

Balshaw told BBC Radio Suffolk how he initially assumed the noise was a car backfiring but, having grown up in a military household, he then recognised the high-pitched crack of rifle fire.

He said: "We ran down an alley down the side of the church, the noise was obviously echoing down there and we had no idea where the shots were coming from."

He said a member of staff let the couple into the basilica through a side door. By then, Balshaw estimated he had heard between 20 and 30 shots.

He joined others near the entrance to watch the street in case anybody else needed refuge.

He recalled: "It was honestly quite surreal, the vast majority of the people in there were tourists, there were a lot of people in there.

"We were worried this was some kind of mass shooting, from the amount of shots fired, at that point I thought hiding in a church packed with people is not the safest place to be.

"We were worried that if this guy hadn't been apprehended, that the church could be their next target."

The couple left the church and tried to make their way back to their apartment as ambulance sirens sounded across the city.

He said: "We saw the first set of paramedics who had arrived, giving CPR to a man on the floor who was quite obviously unresponsive.

"It was at that point that it really kind of clicked that something had happened.

Early in the ordeal, Balshaw contacted his family back home to let them know they were safe.

He said: "My dad was in London when the [7/7] attacks happened... I remember that experience of not knowing whether he was okay, not knowing what was going on then," he said.

"I didn't want to put my parents or my partner's parents through that."

A 25-year-old man arrested in the aftermath of the attack remains in hospital after having surgery for a gunshot wound.

Footage authenticated by BBC Verify showed a police officer confronting the suspect and firing several shots before collapsing, apparently injured.

Balshaw said: "What we experienced was terrible and I don't know how we are going to process that, but that police officer was shot three times before he got out of that car to apprehend that man.

"I cannot think of anything that requires more bravery than getting out of a car after you've been shot three times to stop someone who you know is still armed.

"This will fundamentally change Poland and their feeling of security for the rest of their lives.

"People say thoughts and prayers to the people of Poland but it's not just about the family of those that have lost. It's about everyone else and that innocence that they have lost because of this as well."

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