Knife in 13-year-old's backpack at Pępowo school as Poland's school attacks mount
A 13-year-old pupil carried a knife in his backpack to a primary school in Pępowo on 6 October but did not take it out, police say. The case followed knife attacks in Ostrołęka and Leszczydół-Nowiny this week, which prompted extra police patrols at schools.
A knife in a backpack in Pępowo
On Tuesday, 6 October, after 14:00, the Szkoła Podstawowa im. Jana Pawła II in Pępowo, a village near Gostyń in Wielkopolska, reported that a 13-year-old pupil had brought a knife to school in his backpack. According to police, the boy showed the knife to a classmate, who passed the information to teachers, and the school management then called officers. Police secured the knife, questioned witnesses and summoned the boy's parents, who came to the school.
Police spokesman insp. Andrzej Borowiak, speaking to Polsat News, stressed that the boy never created a threat. The boy did not take the knife out of his backpack during his time at the school.
The boy did not take the knife out of his backpack, he did not threaten anyone, nothing happened to anyone, and he did not create any dangerous situation.
Monika Curyk, the spokesperson of the Gostyń county police, praised the response of the school. All actions involving the boy were carried out in the presence of his legal guardians, in line with procedures for minors.
In this whole situation, the quick and proper reaction of students and the school management was very important.
The case will be sent to the family and juvenile court, as the boy is a minor.
Attacks and a foiled plot in the same week
On Wednesday, 7 October, a 19-year-old attacked nine people at Zespół Szkół Zawodowych nr 4 in Ostrołęka, according to Super Express. The victims were five pupils, two teachers and two bystanders. Polsat News reports the attacker used a knife, while TVP Info describes a machete. On the same day, police in Sierpc detained a 17-year-old who was planning an attack on a school. TVP Info reports that he had two knives and had threatened a "bloody event" at the school.
On Thursday, 8 October, a 15-year-old wounded three people with a knife in Leszczydół-Nowiny near Wyszków. One of the victims, a 37-year-old woman, died. Super Express describes her as a school employee who died despite resuscitation, and describes the attacker as a former pupil of the school.
- A 13-year-old brings a knife to a primary school in Pępowo, and a classmate reports it to teachers
- A 19-year-old wounds nine people at a vocational school in Ostrołęka
- A 15-year-old wounds three people in Leszczydół-Nowiny, and a 37-year-old woman dies
- Ostrołęka
- 9 people wounded
- Leszczydół-Nowiny
- 3 people wounded
Mieszkowice and the wider pattern
TVP Info reports a separate incident at the Szkoła Podstawowa in Mieszkowice involving an 8-year-old boy. On his way to school he found the blade of a penknife, and he showed it to classmates during a lesson. When a teacher took the blade from him, he became agitated, hit her and kicked her. Police and his parents were called, and the boy and his parents were taken to hospital. No one needed hospital treatment for injuries. The school began psychological and pedagogical support for pupils, and the director said the pupils were very shaken.
Police and government response
Borowiak said police officers from prevention, patrol-intervention and district units will be on duty every day under primary and secondary schools. Police in Wielkopolska also plan stricter checks, especially on people whose behaviour could suggest a threat to pupils or staff. Polsat News reports that the prime minister convened an urgent meeting on Thursday after the series of violent incidents. Interior minister Marcin Kierwiński announced on Thursday that services had foiled the Sierpc plot. The Pępowo case will be decided by the family court.
