A stabbing at a post-secondary college in Warsaw has left three people injured, marking the third such school-related attack in Poland within a single week. The incident involved a 21-year-old woman who allegedly used a “dangerous object” to assault a 17-year-old student around 12:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Warsaw police spokesperson Jakub Filipiak confirmed the suspect also injured two bystanders, aged 17 and 24. While one victim required hospital care for non-life-threatening wounds, the others did not require medical admission. Reports identify the institution as TEB Edukacja, where the suspect was enrolled. According to in the latest attack, a 21-year-old woman used a “dangerous object” on Saturday at about 12:30pm local time (10:30 GMT) to attack a 17-year-old woman,, Jakub Filipiak, a spokesman for Warsaw police.
This latest violence follows a nationwide security sweep. Earlier on Saturday, officials announced that police had checked nearly 50,000 schools across the country and detained 76 individuals in connection to the recent wave of unrest. The government has prioritized student safety, with Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski stating there would be no compromise regarding the protection of youth. Despite public anxiety and widespread rumors of coordinated plots—often referred to as “bloody Friday” in online parent forums—authorities have found no evidence linking these specific attacks to a larger organized internet challenge. And ushered police to check tens of thousands of schools and detain dozens of people across the country earlier on Saturday, the series of incidents has stoked concerns in Poland about copycat violence among young people. Rumours that the attacks were coordinated and that there would be more on the culmination day dubbed “bloody Friday” were being shared in parents’ online groups and by mainstream media, by Thursday night.
The string of violent events began Wednesday when a 19-year-old vocational student in the Mazovian province attacked teachers and peers with a sharp object, injuring nine people before being apprehended. On Thursday, a separate tragedy occurred at a former school in the same province, where a 15-year-old student fatally wounded a school custodian and injured two others. Both perpetrators were Polish nationals, a detail that has sparked national discourse over the rising, unusual phenomenon of violence committed by minors within the education system.
In response to the growing threat, security measures were significantly increased across the nation on Friday. Approximately 59 schools preemptively suspended operations, particularly in the Mazovian district near Warsaw. Many educational facilities have since implemented enhanced entry protocols, including the stationing of additional staff at gates and the introduction of voluntary backpack inspections. Law enforcement continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding each case to determine if any common underlying causes exist, although investigators have yet to issue official confirmation of a connection between the three incidents. School directors sent messages announcing stepped-up security measures including extra school staff placed at entrances and voluntary backpack checks.
