Several injured in attack at Polish vocational school
A 19-year-old pupil has been arrested in Ostrołęka; the motive has not yet been established.
Several people were injured in an attack at a vocational school in the Polish city of Ostrołęka on Wednesday. Police arrested a 19-year-old pupil; nothing has yet been established about the motive.
According to Polish police and international reports, the attack took place late on Wednesday morning at a vocational school in Ostrołęka, about 120 kilometres north-east of Warsaw. A pupil is said to have attacked people in and around the school building with a sharp object.
The first reports spoke of seven people injured. Associated Press later reported nine injured among pupils, teachers and passers-by. According to that later information, one victim was in a serious condition, but the injuries of the others were not life-threatening. The reports were updated during the day.
The suspect, identified by Polish media as Jakub Z., was arrested shortly afterwards near the city. Polish privacy rules require suspects without public office not to be fully named. Police and the Public Prosecution Service are investigating exactly what happened.
The authorities have not disclosed a motive. Nor has it been established whether the suspect acted alone. Various claims are circulating online, but these have not been confirmed by police or prosecutors.
The school was closed for investigation after the attack. According to AP, the mayor of Ostrołęka announced that pupils and others affected by the incident would receive psychological support. Access checks at other schools in the city were reportedly to be tightened.
The case is receiving widespread attention in Poland because violence at schools is relatively uncommon there, but the precise scale of the incident had still not been fully established by late afternoon. The investigation must also clarify what security measures were in place during the attack and whether there had been prior warning signs known to the authorities.
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The text takes account of the changing number of victims and attributes the different figures to the sources. No unconfirmed motives or details about victims have been added.
- confirmed A 19-year-old pupil was arrested after the attack. — This was reported by Reuters and AP. source
- confirmed The first reports spoke of seven people injured and AP later reported nine injured. — Reuters described the preliminary report of seven; AP later reported nine victims among pupils, teachers and passers-by. source
- confirmed The motive had not been established. — AP and Reuters reported that police had disclosed no motive. source
- confirmed The school was closed and psychological support was provided. — AP quoted the mayor of Ostrołęka on these measures. source
Editor's note
The number of injured changed from seven to nine in the first hours in different reports. The motive and any accomplices have not been established.Sources
- 19-year-old student in Poland injures 9 people in a school attack — Associated Press
- Seven injured in Polish school knife attack, police say — Reuters via MarketScreener
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „polen ostrołęka”
- AD — „polen ostrołęka”
- de Volkskrant — „polen ostrołęka”