Three injured in third school attack in Poland in under a week
Al Jazeera Staff
Three people were wounded in a stabbing at a continuing-education college in Warsaw on Saturday, the third attack on a Polish school in under a week. Police have detained 76 people nationwide and checked nearly 50,000 schools amid fears of copycat violence following two earlier attacks that left one dead and several injured.
Three people were injured in a knife attack at a continuing-education college in Warsaw, marking the third attack on a school in Poland in less than a week, according to Warsaw police.
The string of incidents has raised concerns in Poland about copycat violence among young people, prompting police to check tens of thousands of schools and detain dozens of people across the country on Saturday.
In the latest attack, a 21-year-old woman used a "dangerous object" at around 12:30 p.m. local time (10:30 GMT) on Saturday to assault a 17-year-old woman, according to Warsaw police spokesman Jakub Filipiak. The suspect also injured two other people, aged 17 and 24.
"One person was injured and taken to hospital with injuries not life-threatening. Two other bystanders were also injured but did not require hospitalization," Filipiak added.
Police did not identify the educational institution, but said the school was open on Saturday because it is a higher-education facility. The attacker did not know any of the victims, police said. National newspaper Wyborcza identified the facility as TEB Edukacja, a school offering post-secondary education. According to national media reports, the suspect had previously studied at the school.
Seventy-six people detained
The attack came after police said on Saturday they had detained 76 people across Poland and checked nearly 50,000 schools nationwide as part of efforts to prevent further violence following two earlier school attacks during the week.
On Friday, schools across Poland stepped up security, some suspended classes, many parents kept children at home and police deployed patrols at educational facilities after the first two attacks of the week left one person dead and several others injured, including children.
On Wednesday, a 19-year-old student at a vocational school in central Poland's Mazovia province attacked classmates, teachers and passersby with a sharp object, injuring nine people before fleeing and being arrested nearby.
The following day, a 15-year-old killed a school security guard and injured two others in a knife attack at his former school in the same province.
Both attacks were carried out by Polish citizens, shocking a country where school violence by minors is a new phenomenon.
By Thursday evening, rumors that the attacks were coordinated and that more would follow on a peak day dubbed "Bloody Friday" had spread through online parent groups and in mainstream media.
Fifty-nine schools voluntarily suspended classes on Friday across Poland, mostly in the Mazovia district, home to the capital Warsaw. School principals sent notices about tightened security measures, including extra staff at entrances and voluntary backpack checks.
"There will be no compromise here. The safety of young people is the most important thing," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said.
The government had earlier said it had found no evidence of an internet challenge encouraging the school attacks. There has also been no official confirmation that any of the attacks are linked.
