Polish police arrest teens over school attack threats amid 'Bloody Friday' rumors

Polish police have arrested a number of young people, primarily for making threats related to school attacks, as authorities attempt to calm fears stirred by online rumors of a “Bloody Friday.” The arrests come after two stabbing incidents at schools in as many days.

Social media in Poland has been rife with speculation about a supposed online challenge behind the attacks. However, police stated on Friday that their investigations had found no evidence of such a coordinated effort. Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told TVN24 that while there was a lot of emotionally charged misinformation circulating due to understandable anxiety, there was no sign of a nationwide "challenge." He added that the possibility of individuals or copycats could not be ruled out, but no evidence pointed to a group coordinating harm.

The incidents have led to a nationwide security response, with police deployed to 10,000 schools. The government is warning against the spread of misinformation, fearing it could inspire copycat attacks.

Police reported detaining 10 individuals, mainly for online threats, with further arrests announced throughout the morning. Specific arrests included a 13-year-old from Warsaw who posted a photo of a knife and threats in a class group chat, a 14-year-old detained on school grounds in Warsaw with a knife and firecrackers, and two 15-year-olds from Pruszkow County who posted a video containing threats to kill.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old former pupil attacked a primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw, killing one employee and injuring two others. The previous day, a 19-year-old wounded 10 people, including himself, at another school in Ostroleka, northeastern Poland.

Several social media accounts shared images of a TikTok account purportedly belonging to Thursday's attacker, featuring pre-attack images. Reuters was unable to locate the account, which appeared to have been removed. The Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) confirmed to Reuters via email that it was aware of the TikTok content and was cooperating with the platform. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.