What happened at the John-Paul II primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny?

A 15-year-old former student attacked the school caretaker, a teacher and the school head with a knife. The 37-year-old caretaker died, while the other two adults helped overpower the attacker.

When did the Polish school knife attacks occur and where?

The fatal attack occurred on Thursday at a school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, 70 kilometres northeast of Warsaw. It followed a knife attack at a high school in Ostroleka, 120 kilometres north of Warsaw, the day before.

Teen knife attack kills 1, injures 2 in Polish school

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Summary

A 15-year-old fatally stabbed a caretaker and wounded two adults at a former school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, Poland, on Thursday. Police arrested the boy at the John-Paul II primary school, 70 kilometres northeast of Warsaw. The attack followed a high school stabbing in Ostroleka that wounded nine people the previous day.

Key Facts

The caretaker was 37 and died from his wounds, according to regional police.
A teacher and the school head overpowered the former student after he attacked them with a knife.
Police detained a 17-year-old in another Polish town after he indicated plans to do something spectacular at his school, and officers found two knives in his apartment.
A 19-year-old was arrested after nine people were wounded at a high school in Ostroleka, 120 kilometres north of Warsaw.

By AFP

Published Oct 8, 2026 9:07 pm KST

A police officer and a fire fighter stand near a road sign as they work at the site of a deadly attack at a school by a 15-year-old former pupil, in Leszczydol-Nowiny, Wyszkow County, northeast of Warsaw, Poland, Thursday. The incident came a day after another attack at a different Polish school. Reuters-Yonhap

WARSAW, — A 15-year-old fatally stabbed the caretaker at his former school in Poland and wounded two other adults on Thursday, a day after a similar knife attack wounded nine in a Polish high school, police said.

Police arrested the boy after the attack at the John-Paul II primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, a small town 70 kilometres northeast of Warsaw, a police spokesperson told AFP.

"The caretaker was the first person assaulted by the former student," said Katarzyna Kucharska, spokesperson for the police in the Warsaw region.

"Then a teacher and the head of the school managed to overpower him, even though he struck them with his weapon."

The caretaker, 37, died of their wounds, regional police said on X (formerly Twitter).

Police said they had also detained a 17-year-old boy in another Polish town after he made it known that he intended to do "something spectacular" at his school.

Officers found a bag containing two knives in his apartment.

Thursday's attack came a day after a 19-year-old was arrested after nine people were wounded at a high school in Ostroleka, 120 kilometres north of Warsaw.

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