Key facts
- A 15-year-old former pupil killed one person and injured two others at a Polish primary school.
- The victim was a 37-year-old caretaker.
- The head teacher and another teacher were injured.
- The attack occurred in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw.
- This is the second school attack in Poland in two days.
A 15-year-old former pupil killed one person and injured two others at a Polish primary school on Thursday, police said. The attack occurred in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw, around 9 a.m. The victim was identified as a 37-year-old caretaker. The head teacher, Krzysztof Ochmanski, said he heard a scream and ran into the corridor, where he was wounded with a knife and hit with its handle by the attacker, who was carrying three knives. Another teacher was also injured while trying to restrain the assailant. The Interior Ministry stated that no further lives were in danger. The attacker was a former pupil of the school and is currently a student at a vocational school, according to a spokeswoman, who added that motives were unknown. An air ambulance was seen flying away from the school, where a crowd had gathered. Footage showed the attacker being handcuffed and placed in a police van.
This incident follows a knife attack on Wednesday at a school in Ostroleka, northeastern Poland, where a 19-year-old wounded 10 people, including himself. In a separate event on Wednesday in Sierpc, north-central Poland, police detained a 17-year-old who had mentioned plans to do "something dangerous" on school grounds. Data recovered from his electronic devices revealed online searches related to orchestrating violent events, and police found two knives in his possession.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an emergency meeting amid growing concerns about violence among teenagers. Inspector Katarzyna Nowak, director of communications for national police, noted that serious offenders are becoming younger across Europe and that Poland has seen arrests of teenagers preparing attacks. Data recovered from electronic devices revealed online searches regarding how to orchestrate such a violent event.