12-year-old threatens classmate with kitchen knife outside Małopolska primary school

A knife threat outside a school in Choczń

On Friday morning, before lessons, a 12-year-old boy threatened a classmate with a kitchen knife outside the primary school in Choczń in the Wadowice district of Małopolska, according to Wadowice police spokeswoman Agnieszka Petek. The frightened boy ran home and told relatives, who alerted the school management. According to witness accounts, several schoolgirls saw a sixth-grader chase a classmate with the knife and reported it to the school right away. The threatened boy reached his grandmother's house nearby, while the 12-year-old dropped the knife near the school and went to class. Police arrived, secured the weapon and took the boy to the police station in Wadowice, where he was questioned in the presence of his parents.

Nothing happened to anyone. After the incident, the 12-year-old hid the knife near the school and then went to class.

A second report that proved false

On the same Friday, a pupil at a primary school in Wadowice boasted to classmates that he had a knife in his backpack, and teachers called the police. Officers found no dangerous tool, and police said the information was false. The Wadowice case will also go to the juvenile court, as the Choczń case will. Petek explained why the report was treated seriously despite the absence of a weapon.

Although no dangerous tool was found, spreading false information can cause chaos and fear among peers, so documentation was also prepared in this case and the matter will go to the juvenile court.

Police step up school checks across Małopolska

Małopolska Police said on Friday that, in light of dangerous incidents at schools in Poland in recent days, it was stepping up preventive and control actions and verifying all incoming information about potential threats. In total, six pupils from Małopolska are subject to police action. In Kraków, two pupils aged 13 and 14 brought knives to school. On Thursday around 13:00, police received a report from a school complex in the Kraków district about a 16-year-old allegedly making threats against schools; he was detained, his phone and computer were secured, and the court referred him to a youth educational centre. Police in Gorlice are also investigating a 16-year-old high school pupil who allegedly made threats by SMS on Friday. Police also warned of online disinformation about an alleged challenge involving minors.

At present it has not been confirmed that the described event actually took place.

Attacks at schools elsewhere in Poland this week

The same reporting describes more serious attacks at schools elsewhere in the country earlier this week. On Thursday, a 15-year-old attacked three school employees in Leszczydół-Nowiny near Wyszków: the headteacher, a teacher and a caretaker. A 37-year-old woman among the three did not survive the attack and left two children. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the teenager wore a helmet with a camera and wanted to film the whole incident, and that he may answer for murder as an adult. On Wednesday, a 19-year-old pupil of Zespół Szkół Zawodowych nr 4 in Ostrołęka stabbed nine people, including five pupils, two teachers and two bystanders, and carried a homemade explosive device described as having 'high destructive power' in his backpack. He was charged on Thursday. The same day an attack was foiled at a school in Sierpc, where a teenager had reportedly said he would 'do something bad'.

What happens next

The 12-year-old from Choczń will answer before the juvenile and family court, which will decide his future. The pupil who claimed to have a knife in Wadowice faces the same court. Police said they continue to verify reports and warnings received from schools. The 16-year-old detained in the Kraków district is held under a court order at a youth educational centre.