Police detain 14-year-old in Jabłonka who threatened three female classmates
Police in Małopolska detained a 14-year-old boy who had threatened three female classmates with death and said he would act on it at school. A separate case in Bartoszyce sent a boy just under 14 to a juvenile shelter.
Threats against three classmates in Jabłonka
On Sunday, 11 October, a 14-year-old pupil from the Jabłonka commune in Małopolska threatened to kill three of his female classmates. According to Super Express, he sent the threatening messages to the girls, who immediately told their parents. He also announced that he would carry out the threats at school the following day, which the same outlet puts at Monday, 12 October. The teenager's parents informed the school director, and the director then notified police. Officers from the Nowy Targ police force went straight to the teenager's home, where he was detained.
Custody and pending court decision
Police took the boy to the Police Children's Centre in Kraków, where he remains at the disposal of a family court. The court will decide his future and which educational, therapeutic or corrective measures apply to him. Police stressed that the quick reaction of the parents and the school allowed officers to act without delay. They also appealed to the public not to dismiss threats or disturbing behaviour, even when the people responsible are minors.
Other alleged offences and a timeline
Investigators believe the teenager may be linked to other incidents in the same commune. On 9 October he is alleged to have attempted a theft together with companions, but the group was scared off by the intended victim. He is also alleged to have taken part, together with other people, in damaging the fence around a property. The sequence of dates reported so far is shown below.
- Alleged attempted theft with companions, broken off when the intended victim scared the group off
- Teenager threatens three female classmates; parents alert the school, which informs police
- Monday, the day the teenager reportedly named for carrying out the threats at school, according to Super Express
Separate case in Bartoszyce
In Bartoszyce, police suspect a boy just under 14, a sixth-grader at a primary school, of threatening a younger female pupil with a knife and with the blade of a pencil sharpener. Police also suspect him of hitting one of his schoolmates and choking him. Police say he already has entries on his record for violating another child's bodily integrity, injuring another child and theft. Police said he had long presented educational problems and that his aggression had recently escalated. He had been taken to a Police Children's Centre before, and roughly two weeks before these incidents he was detained after officers found what police describe as prohibited substances on him. Family courts had also dealt with his behaviour earlier. On Tuesday, 13 October, the family and juvenile court in Bartoszyce placed him in a juvenile shelter for three months. Police describe the younger pupils targeted in these incidents as 12-year-olds.