Police detain 17-year-old over online threat of attack on Przasnysz school

The recording

A recording that spread on social media and messaging apps on Thursday, 8 October, warned of a "bloody Friday" (krwawy piątek), which the speaker described as part of a "race of killings". The anonymous speaker introduced himself as a "knifeman from Przasnysz" and, according to reports, announced a massacre at the LO im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej (LO im. KEN) in Przasnysz the following day. The recording reportedly also threatened a boy identified by name, whom the author called "target number one". The speaker suggested the planned actions would not be limited to Przasnysz and threatened to kill anyone who stood in the way of the "race". Students and parents passed the messages on quickly, and local media said the recording caused great unease.

Police response

Mazovian police announced that a 17-year-old resident of Przasnysz county had been detained, describing him as the probable author of the recording circulating online. A few minutes after 8 pm, police confirmed the detention, according to Niezależna. Ilona Cichocka, a police spokesperson at the Przasnysz County Police Headquarters, told local outlets that officers were continuing procedures with the teenager.

Activities with the man are ongoing.

Investigators are establishing how the recording was made, what its purpose was and how it was distributed. Police have not confirmed whether the teenager was preparing an attack on a school or only spreading threats.

A series of school incidents

The recording came days after a string of violent incidents in Mazovia. Police and local reports referred to an attack in Ostrołęka, and to Leszczydło-Nowiny near Wyszków, where a 15-year-old former pupil attacked school staff. A 37-year-old female employee of that school was killed in the attack. Onet reported that the services acted after a series of attacks by teenagers in schools across Mazovia, and after reports that further attacks could take place on Friday. Those reports reportedly circulated in closed social media groups, where the phrase "bloody Friday" was used as the name of the planned climax of the attacks. Local media reported that secondary schools in Ciechanów would work remotely on Friday, and that other local authorities in Mazovia had taken similar precautions.

What remains unclear

The services have no information confirming attacks on Friday, according to Onet. Police urged residents not to repeat unverified information and to rely only on reliable sources. Niezależna described the case as the latest in a series of knife attacks in Polish schools, though in this case the suspect was detained before any threats could be carried out. Investigators have yet to establish whether the threats had any basis in real intentions, and whether anyone else was involved in producing or distributing the recording.