Ten people were injured in a knife attack at a school in Ostroleka in northeastern Poland on Wednesday, a regional governor said, with police detaining the 19-year-old suspect, who was among those hurt, shortly after the incident.
Masovian Regional Governor Mariusz Frankowski told reporters that nine people had been taken to hospital but that none of them was in a life-threatening condition.
“The injured included five students, two teachers, and two bystanders, as well as the perpetrator, who inflicted self-harm,” he said.
Police said the suspect was a student at the school and that he had attacked people with a machete.
Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene. National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk told private broadcaster TVN24that a homemade explosive device that nearly detonated was found in the attacker’s backpack.
Students barricaded themselves in classrooms
The attack took place at a vocational school for teenagers.
Fire brigade spokesperson Adrian Stupski told state news channel TVP Info that students had barricaded themselves into classrooms in self-defence before they were evacuated.
Authorities said the attack happened around 0900 GMT.
Police said they detained the suspect about 20 minutes after the attack and posted a photo on X showing a man they appeared to have apprehended lying face down in a wooded area.
Town hall spokesperson Katarzyna Ogniewska told reporters that all schools in Ostroleka were closed and that children were safe.
The motives behind the attack were unclear. Such incidents are rare in Poland, but in September police detained a 13-year-old suspected of planning an attack and found a knife in his bag.
2026-10-07 22:59:00
