A 15-year-old boy armed with a knife and wearing a camera attached to his helmet allegedly attacked his former Polish primary school, killing an employee and injuring two others. The incident marked Poland’s second school stabbing in as many days.
Investigators are examining possible links between the attacks and an online challenge reportedly urging teenagers to kill as many people as they can.
Police said a 37-year-old woman employed as a school caretaker was killed in Thursday morning’s assault in Leszczydol-Nowiny, a town northeast of Warsaw.
School principal Krzysztof Ochmanski was hurt while trying to overpower the teenager. Speaking to a radio station, Ochmanski said he heard a scream before rushing into the hallway.
Forensic investigators examine the scene of a knife attack at a vocational school in Ostroleka, Poland, Oct. 7, 2026. (Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images)
“He cut me with the blade of a fairly long knife — he was carrying three knives — and struck me with the handle,” Ochmanski told public broadcaster Polskie Radio RDC. “By that point, I had succeeded in holding him down.”
The latest attack came one day after a 19-year-old suspect allegedly injured 10 people, including himself, at a school in Ostroleka in northeastern Poland.
Police also arrested a 17-year-old in Sierpc, central-northern Poland, earlier this week after suspecting him of preparing to carry out a similar assault, Reuters reported.
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Media members gather beside an ambulance at the site of a knife attack at a vocational school in Ostroleka, Poland, Oct. 7, 2026. (Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of a potential copycat threat during an emergency meeting, according to Reuters. “We are concerned about a horrific copycat phenomenon,” he said. “This is an extraordinary situation. … For the first time, we are dealing with a killer who wore a camera on his helmet with the intention of recording the knife attack.”
Tusk instructed police officers to make daily visits to schools as a visible measure intended to prevent further violence.
Children observe the scene of a knife attack outside a vocational school in Ostroleka, Poland, Oct. 7, 2026. (Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images)
Nikola, 18, whose brother attends the school targeted Thursday, told Reuters that students had been discussing the social media challenge now under investigation by police.
“I didn’t know whether it was real, and honestly, I still don’t know if it is,” she said. “It sounds completely unreal and terrifying, like something from a movie — a challenge to kill as many people as possible.”
