Poland stabbings driven by online glorification of violence, Tusk says

What the report says

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said a series of knife attacks at schools this week were linked to the online glorification of violence. Speaking after a crisis meeting with security services on Sunday, he said the incidents were not part of a large organized group but appeared to be spontaneous acts influenced by online activity. The BBC reported that the attacks left one woman dead and several others injured, including children.

According to the report, police have arrested 117 people nationwide after checking tens of thousands of schools for knives, weapons or threats against schools and students. Authorities also said they detained a 17-year-old in Sierpc after he allegedly said on school grounds that he intended to hurt someone. In addition, a woman was arrested after injuring three people, including a 17-year-old girl, at an educational institution in Warsaw.

The attacks followed two earlier stabbings, one in which a 37-year-old caretaker was killed at a primary school in Leszczydół-Nowiny, north of Warsaw, and another in which a 19-year-old student injured nine people at a vocational school in Mazovian province. Tusk said officials had also seen growing online fascination with violent extremists and Nazi content. The developments have prompted a wider security response and raised concern about school safety and online radicalization.