Poland fears copycat online 'kill challenge' after second school stabbing in two days leaves one dead

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026 · last updated 9 October 2026.

A 15-year-old former pupil carrying three knives and wearing a helmet-mounted camera killed a 37-year-old caretaker and wounded two others at a primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw, on Thursday. The headteacher, Krzysztof Ochmanski, was stabbed and struck with a knife handle before overpowering the attacker. Police are now investigating whether the two attacks are linked to an online challenge urging teenagers to kill as many people as possible.

The day before, a 19-year-old wounded 10 people, including himself, in a separate stabbing at a school in Ostroleka in northeastern Poland.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk told an emergency meeting he feared 'a grim copycat phenomenon', as police also detained a 17-year-old in Sierpc who had told classmates he planned to do 'something spectacular'.

The Sierpc teenager was found with two knives and had reportedly been searching online for how to 'orchestrate a bloody event'.