A shocking knife attack left ten people injured at a vocational school in Ostroleka, northeastern Poland, on Wednesday. Regional authorities confirmed that police quickly detained a 19-year-old student who is suspected of carrying out the assault with a machete. The suspect was also among those hurt after he injured himself.
Masovian Regional Governor Mariusz Frankowski told reporters that nine people were taken to hospital. He stressed that none of the victims faced life-threatening injuries. The injured included five students, two teachers, and two bystanders, along with the attacker himself.
Police confirmed the suspect was a student at the same school. Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene after authorities discovered a homemade explosive device inside the attacker’s backpack. National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk told a private broadcaster that the device had nearly detonated.
The attack unfolded at a vocational school for teenagers around 9 a.m. GMT. Fire brigade spokesperson Adrian Stupski explained that students had barricaded themselves inside classrooms as a form of self-defence before emergency teams safely evacuated them. Police detained the suspect roughly twenty minutes after the incident began. Officers later shared a photo on social media showing the young man lying face down in a wooded area after his arrest.
Town hall spokesperson Katarzyna Ogniewska assured the public that every school in Ostroleka had been closed for the day and that all children were safe. The motives behind the knife attack remain unclear at this stage.
Although such violent incidents are rare in Poland, authorities remain alert. Just last month police detained a 13-year-old who was suspected of planning a similar attack after officers found a knife in his bag. The latest event has left the local community shaken and has prompted a thorough investigation into how a student was able to bring a machete and an explosive device onto school grounds.
Emergency teams responded swiftly, and the rapid detention of the suspect prevented further harm. Officials continue to gather evidence while supporting the injured students, teachers and bystanders who were caught in the sudden violence. The case has drawn national attention as investigators work to understand what led a young student to launch such a dangerous assault inside a place of learning.
