A primary school in central Poland became the scene of a horrific crime on Thursday, October 8, 2026. In the village of Leszczydu-Nowy, northeast of Warsaw, a 15-year-old boy broke into the school building shortly after 9:00 a.m. and stabbed a 37-year-old woman working as a janitor and housekeeper in the neck. The employee, a mother of two, died at the scene despite attempts at resuscitation. Two other people were also injured - the principal and a teacher. They managed to neutralize the attacker, but were injured. The perpetrator is a graduate of the same school who graduated this summer.
Shortly after the attack, it became clear that the attacker was wearing a helmet equipped with a camera to film the attack. Three knives were found on him.
Until now, Poland has been considered a safe country compared to Western Europe and America. However, the knife attack in Leszczydu-Nowy is not the only such incident recently - there have been two more similar incidents in recent days. They question the image of Poland as a country with schools where security and order reign.
On Wednesday, there was also a knife attack at a vocational school in the city of Ostrołęka, in the northeastern part of the country. A 19-year-old man injured nine people - teachers and students, as well as two bystanders during his subsequent escape. According to Polish media, the attacker used a machete and carried a homemade bomb in his backpack, which did not explode. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, the young man was detained on the outskirts of the city by police.
The same day, a 17-year-old boy was detained in the city of Szczerpc, central Poland, who had planned an attack on his school. After announcing in advance that he would "do something bad" to the others, classmates informed a teacher about this, who in turn informed the police. Two knives were seized during a search of his home. The young man had been researching on the Internet how to carry out an attack at a school.
Prime Minister Tusk reacts to the "series of incidents"
Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacted immediately to the "black series", as the Rzeczpospolita newspaper called the attacks: at an emergency meeting attended by the Chief of Police Marek Boron, the Minister of the Interior Marcin Kerwiński and the Minister of Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski, stricter security measures were announced – the police immediately increased their presence around schools and organized patrols in schoolyards.
"This is a warning signal. Until now, Poland has been a very safe country in terms of the threat of terrorism in schools. For the first time, we are now faced with a minor killer wearing a helmet with a camera. "He intended to film his knife attack," Tusk stressed, warning of the danger of copycats who could be encouraged by online violence to carry out new attacks.
According to Polish police, the possibility cannot be ruled out that Thursday's incident was motivated by an online challenge, although there is currently no evidence linking the individual cases. In such challenges, young users set themselves tasks on social networks such as TikTok, YouTube or Instagram and document their completion online.
As Tusk stressed, the government does not have mechanisms to quickly remove online content that violates criminal law - for example, incitement to violence, human trafficking or hate speech. In January, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the relevant bill, citing the need to protect freedom of speech. Nawrocki's veto blocks Poland's implementation of the EU's Digital Services Regulation.
According to the daily Rzeczpospolita, reports of a "bloody Friday" have been circulating on social media. The day was supposed to be the culmination of alleged "challenges" among young people. "We are checking all the information", said Polish police spokeswoman Katarzyna Kucharska.
Fear of copycats
Due to fears of copycat attacks, all primary schools in the Wiszków municipality, which includes Leszczydu-Nowy, remained closed today. Classes were also suspended in several other regions of central Poland.
On Friday morning, Digitalisation Minister Gawkowski tried to reassure the public. "There is no such challenge on a national scale. "This is disinformation," he told TVN.
Meanwhile, Polish police have carried out checks in 10,000 schools and educational institutions and arrested 10 people in connection with online threats - including three young people aged between 13 and 15 who used social media to call for murder, the Polish News Agency (PAP) reported.
On Thursday, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper recalled an interview given to the publication back in May by Rafal Sirisko, head of the Internal Security Agency (ABW). In it, he warned of growing radicalization among young people. "The radicalization of young people takes place mainly on the Internet - through social platforms, forums or spaces related to the world of video games, where anonymity is high. "The intelligence services are not able to monitor the entire internet," Sirisco said.
The ruling coalition is using the debate on school safety to return the digital security bill to parliament for a vote. On Thursday evening, the Sejm passed the legislation by a large majority, making it easier to quickly remove criminal content from the internet. It is not yet clear whether President Nawrotski will sign the law this time.
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Source: www.dw.com