Police shoot knife-wielding suspect and wound bystander in Szamotuły barber shop confrontation

Emergency response at the market square

Police officers in Szamotuły launched an urgent intervention on Thursday afternoon after receiving emergency reports regarding an armed individual inside a local business. The incident began at a barber shop located on the town market square along Braci Czeskich Street in the Greater Poland voivodeship. According to police reports, the 34-year-old visitor was carrying a knife and began displaying aggressive behavior that created an immediate sense of danger for clients and staff. Witnesses contacted the police duty officer when the armed man refused repeated requests to calm down. The arrival of the emergency dispatch further angered the suspect, setting off a confrontation in the center of the town.

Confrontation and weapon deployment

When the police patrol entered the premises on Braci Czeskich Street, the 34-year-old assailant rushed toward the responding officers. The officers initially deployed non-lethal electrical stun equipment in an attempt to restrain the aggressive suspect without firearm use. When this attempt failed to stop the advancing man, the officers drew their service weapons and opened fire. The suspect fled the salon, creating a dynamic confrontation across the surrounding streets as officers pursued him while he continued to move. The chase concluded when responding units successfully cornered and apprehended the suspect near Wroniecka Street. Borowiak outlined the tactical escalation used during the confrontation.

The man charged at the police officers. Officers first used direct coercive measures intended for incapacitation using electrical energy, and when that proved ineffective, they fired shots from their weapons.

Injuries and emergency medical response

The violent confrontation on Thursday left two people injured, including the suspect and a passerby. Preliminary police information revealed that the 34-year-old suspect inflicted a stab wound on himself under his own armpit during the encounter, in addition to suffering wounds from police gunfire. A bystander present near the perimeter of the police action was struck in the leg by a bullet fired from a service weapon. Emergency medical personnel arrived rapidly near Wroniecka Street to stabilize the wounded individuals. Dispatchers directed a helicopter from the Polish Medical Air Rescue service to Szamotuły to assist in emergency transport, and the 34-year-old suspect was subsequently taken to the hospital. Borowiak provided details regarding the condition and capture of the suspect.

In the area of Wroniecka Street he was overpowered. Preliminary information indicates that he wounded himself with a knife under the armpit. He is also wounded as a result of a gunshot.

Criminal background and scene investigation

Following the physical detention of the 34-year-old man on Wroniecka Street, regional police confirmed additional information regarding his legal history. Wielkopolska police spokesman Andrzej Borowiak confirmed that the detained suspect was already actively wanted by law enforcement in connection with a separate criminal investigation. Officers secured the vicinity of both the market square barber shop and Wroniecka Street to preserve evidence and reconstruct the trajectory of the gunfire. Law enforcement personnel launched formal investigative proceedings to examine the conduct of the suspect along with the statutory conditions surrounding the discharge of service weapons by the patrol officers.