Poland: After two knife attacks at schools, authorities call for calm

Two knife attacks perpetrated by students left one dead and twelve injured at two schools in Poland on Wednesday, October 7, and Thursday, October 8. Following these incidents, police visited nearly 15,000 schools on Friday, October 9, and arrested 19 students found in possession of potentially dangerous objects or threatening to use them.

Some were armed with knives, machetes, or explosives. Others promised their school a "Bloody Friday" on social media. Most of the students apprehended by Polish police on the morning of October 9th claimed it was just stupid jokes. But Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski fears a chain reaction following the tragedies of recent days: "This kind of situation always triggers a potential copycat effect. And in this situation, it is very, very dangerous."

According to the Polish police commissioner general, Marek Boron, it is the content of online interactions that contributes to the radicalization of young Poles: "We are talking about discrimination, physical and psychological violence, cyberviolence. And it is our duty to provide them with safety."

For now, authorities maintain that this week's attacks and the potentially dangerous objects discovered on October 9th in students' belongings do not appear to have been coordinated and seem to stem from individual initiatives. Police are calling on the students themselves to cooperate in this exceptional situation. "Today, we dealt with a few cases of students carrying dangerous objects in their school, and it is thanks to information reported by teachers, but also by the students themselves, that we were able to ensure their safety," emphasizes Marek Boron.

Faced with the threat of this "bloody Friday", 50 schools in Poland have cancelled classes, including 45 in the capital region.