Police detain 76 and check 50,000 schools after 2 attacks shake Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish police detained 76 individuals and inspected nearly 50,000 schools across the nation on Saturday in response to two school attacks that occurred earlier in the week. These incidents, which left one person dead and several others wounded, including children, prompted heightened security measures in educational institutions.

The attacks unfolded on Wednesday, with a 19-year-old student in Mazovian province assaulting fellow students, teachers, and passersby with a sharp object, injuring nine before being apprehended. The following day, a 15-year-old student killed a school custodian and wounded two others with a knife in his former school in the same province. Both assailants were Polish nationals, causing shock in a country where such violence by minors is unprecedented.

Rumors circulated on Thursday that the attacks were coordinated, with some predicting a "bloody Friday" to follow. In anticipation, 59 schools suspended classes on Friday, implementing enhanced security like extra staff at entrances and voluntary backpack checks. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński emphasized the importance of youth safety, stating, "There will be no compromise here."

Detainees included a 14-year-old boy from central Warsaw, found with a concealed-blade knife and firecrackers, and a 16-year-old from another Warsaw district with a butterfly knife in his backpack. Some students had shared photos of knives or threatened others online. Authorities found no evidence of an internet challenge promoting school attacks, and there was no official confirmation that the two incidents were linked, though both perpetrators are in custody.

Parents across Poland now grapple with how to discuss school violence with their children. Authorities have pledged to maintain heightened security at schools and provide crisis training. The liberal government also committed to renewing efforts to pass a bill banning harmful online content, noting that they would be unable to block such material without this legal tool, especially if the juvenile attacker had streamed the crime.