Polish police arrest 10 teens over school attack threats

Polish police detained 10 people, mainly for making threats related to school attacks, and said further arrests were being announced as the morning of 9 October progressed, after two stabbing sprees in as many days. Police deployed officers to 10,000 schools nationwide as authorities sought to calm fears spurred by online rumours of a "Bloody Friday".straitstimes.com

The arrests matter because they follow two attacks on Polish schools in two days and a wave of online threats that the government fears could inspire copycats. A 15-year-old former pupil killed one employee and injured two others at a primary school in Leszczydół-Nowiny on 8 October, a day after a 19-year-old wounded 10 people including himself at a school in Ostroleka on 7 October.mirror.co.uk

What the arrests cover

Among those detained, police said, was a 13-year-old from Warsaw who posted a photo of a knife in a class group chat and threatened other students. A 14-year-old in Warsaw was detained on school grounds with a knife and firecrackers. Two 15-year-olds from Pruszków County, just outside the capital, posted a video with threats to kill.

The two stabbing sprees themselves remain under investigation. On 8 October, a 15-year-old wearing a helmet-mounted camera entered John Paul II Primary School in Leszczydół-Nowiny at around 9am and wounded three staff members with a sharp tool, Masovian police said. The headteacher subdued the attacker. "Despite resuscitation, it was not possible to save the life of a 37-year-old school employee," Masovian police said.

The earlier attack, on 7 October, saw a 19-year-old wound 10 people including himself at a school in Ostroleka, according to police. Police in Ostroleka said officers detained the man suspected of attacking people with a sharp tool near and on the school premises. Students barricaded themselves inside classrooms before police detained the suspect around 20 minutes later.

Where the numbers came from

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said there is no sign of a nationwide challenge behind the attacks, despite social media in Poland being filled with talk of a supposed online challenge. "There is a lot of emotionally charged misinformation circulating online - spontaneous reactions born of understandable anxiety - but there is no sign of any nationwide 'challenge' taking place," Gawkowski told private broadcaster TVN24.

No evidence of a challenge

Police said their investigations had found no evidence of such a challenge. Gawkowski added that a copycat could still emerge: "We cannot rule out the possibility that one, two or three individuals might be communicating in a group, hatching a plan, or that a copycat could emerge. However, we see no evidence of a threat stemming from a group of people coordinating to harm someone today."

Several social media accounts posted pictures of a TikTok account said to belong to the attacker in Leszczydół-Nowiny, featuring images taken before the attack. The account appeared to have been taken down. Officers from the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime said they were aware of the content and were cooperating with the platform, which did not reply to a request for comment.

The government has warned against the spread of misinformation that officials fear could inspire copycat attacks, and police have been deployed to 10,000 schools nationwide. The nationwide deployment is the largest single figure reported in the security response so far, and it follows the two school stabbings and the arrests of teenagers over online threats.

The next development will come as police announce further arrests, which they said were being made as the morning of 9 October progressed, and as the investigation into the 15-year-old suspect in Leszczydół-Nowiny continues. Masovian police said police activities at the school were ongoing, and the suspect remained in custody.