Poland school stabbing: Seven injured in Ostrołęka knife attack

What happened in Ostrołęka?

A 19-year-old student has been arrested after a knife attack at a vocational school in northeastern Poland left seven people injured, including both students and teachers.

The attack took place at Vocational School Complex No. 4 in Ostrołęka, a town north of Warsaw, at around 11 am local time on Wednesday.

Emergency services rushed to the school after reports that a suspect using a "sharp object" was attacking people. Police said five of those injured are under the age of 18. Local broadcaster RMF FM reported that most of the victims are students, and one teacher was among the wounded. Two of the victims are in a serious condition.

The arrest of the suspect

The suspect, who is a student at the school, fled the scene but was quickly tracked down by officers. He was arrested on a riverbank near the municipal beach, less than a kilometre from the school.

Police spokesperson Katarzyna Kucharska said the 19-year-old was wounded during his arrest and has been taken to hospital under guard. Police have not yet released details about the nature or severity of his injuries.

Shortly after the arrest, police in the Mazovia province published a photograph on social media showing the suspect face down on the ground in a wooded area with his hands tied behind his back.

Prosecutor Elżbieta Łukasiewicz told the television station TVN24 that the attack occurred around 0900 GMT.

Where the victims are being treated

Those injured are being treated at the Mazovian Specialist Hospital in Ostrołęka. Staff at the hospital's emergency department confirmed the victims would remain there for treatment rather than being transferred to other facilities.

Ostrołęka Mayor Paweł Niewiadomski sought to reassure the local community on Wednesday afternoon, writing on social media that the situation was now under control.

"The most important information is that the situation has been brought under control," Mayor Niewiadomski said, adding that municipal and police authorities were at the school to establish exactly how the attack unfolded.

School attacks are rare in Poland, though the country was shaken last month by a stabbing at a Catholic convent in southeastern Poland that left one person dead and four others injured. A suspect was arrested in that incident.