Poland: Third attack at an educational institution in under a week leaves three hurt

A 21-year-old woman allegedly attacked people with a "dangerous object" at an educational institution in Warsaw at around 12:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, police said. Three people were injured – according to AP two 17-year-olds and a 24-year-old – none of them seriously. Warsaw police spokesman Jakub Filipiak said one person was taken to hospital, while two bystanders did not need hospital treatment. The suspect did not know the victims. Police did not name the institution, a post-secondary school that is open on Saturdays.

It was the third such attack in Poland in less than a week. On Wednesday (Oct. 7), a 19-year-old vocational school student in the Mazovia region allegedly injured nine students, teachers and passersby with a sharp object. On Thursday (Oct. 8), a 15-year-old allegedly fatally stabbed the caretaker of his former primary school in Leszczydół-Nowiny and wounded two adults, wearing a camera to record the attack. The school's director overpowered him. Both suspects are in custody.

Authorities have tightened security: police said they detained 76 people across Poland and checked nearly 50,000 schools. On Friday, 59 schools, mostly in Mazovia, suspended classes as a precaution, and many added staff at entrances and voluntary bag checks. "There will be no compromise here. The safety of the youth is the most important thing," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said. The government said it found no evidence of an online challenge promoting school attacks, and there is no official confirmation the cases are linked. Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised a renewed push for a bill to block harmful online content.