Police check over 108,000 Polish schools after knife attacks, 167 detained

Nationwide checks

Police said on Tuesday that by 6 am they had recorded 415 incidents in which officers were acting on a justified suspicion of a criminal offence, had checked more than 108,000 school facilities and had detained 167 people. At 6 am on Monday, 12 October, the force had reported 311 incidents, 135 detentions and nearly 80,000 facilities checked. Officers have been deployed across Poland since Friday, 9 October, and police monitor the network around the clock. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said schools will stay under special supervision for as long as worrying situations are observed. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the operation will last at least several more days and could be intensified or extended. The interior minister also said about 20,000 police officers had been sent to schools on Monday.

What happened

On Wednesday, 7 October, a 19-year-old attacked nine people with a knife and a hatchet at Zespół Szkół Zawodowych nr 4 in Ostrołęka, according to the Ostrołęka District Prosecutor's Office, and carried a homemade explosive device in his backpack. Prosecutors reported nine wounded people. On Thursday, 8 October, a 15-year-old attacked three staff members at a primary school in Leszczydół-Nowiny in the Wyszków commune. A 37-year-old woman caretaker died, a female teacher was taken to hospital and the headteacher suffered superficial wounds. Police also stopped a probable attack in Sierpc, where a 17-year-old who had threatened to 'do something bad' was charged and arrested for two months. On Saturday, 10 October, a 21-year-old woman who studies at a further education college in Warsaw attacked three women with a knife, according to KSP spokesman Jacek Wiśniewski. A 17-year-old girl was taken to hospital with cut wounds to her forearm, while the other two women were not hospitalised.

Online threats and rumours

A police summary published on 13 October described detentions in Lower Silesia, including a 16-year-old girl suspected of posting threats of criminal violence in a group chat, who claimed it was a 'joke'. Another 16-year-old high school pupil was detained after posting that he 'might become a knifeman', and a 16-year-old who edited a photo with AI to look as if he held a knife was also held. Police found no dangerous objects on him. Rumours of a 'Bloody Friday' spread online, and Do Rzeczy reported that unconfirmed information and fictional stories were circulating among children. Police detained dozens of people on Friday, 9 October, and by 5 pm had recorded 172 incidents and detained 59 people.

Retailers and lawmakers respond

Biedronka, which has about 3,900 stores, said it had withdrawn selected Halloween products, including fake knives and frightening costumes. The company said:

In the interest of children and young people, on Monday we decided to withdraw selected Halloween-themed products that may evoke unwanted associations.

The children's retailer Smyk withdrew plastic knives and cleavers, saying such items were inappropriate on shelves aimed at families under current circumstances. Tusk credited the mass deployment with bringing the situation under control. The government says glorifying violence online is harmful to young people and wants faster legislation to remove harmful content. Do Rzeczy accused Tusk and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski of using fear of the attacks to push political censorship of the internet. Paweł Mrozek, founder of the Akcja Uczniowska organisation, said police presence increases many pupils' sense of safety and argued that platforms profiting from violent content should face huge fines.

Backpack searches

Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said the ministry had begun drafting rules that would let school directors search pupils' backpacks, lockers and outer clothing, and confiscate items that may, but need not, be dangerous, such as hammers or screwdrivers. Currently neither directors nor teachers may search a pupil's bag. Nowacka said:

We must change the rules so that they have this option, because there have already been cases when teachers intervened and faced disciplinary penalties for exceeding their powers.

ZNP chair Sławomir Broniarz told Fakt he has doubts. He said the change would not solve current safety problems, would burden directors and could expose them to conflicts with parents, noting that one director serves 200, 300 or even 1,000 pupils.