Knife attack in Polish monastery: One dead, four injured – Ukrainians arrested

One person was killed and four others were injured in a knife attack at a monastery in southeastern Poland. A 31-year-old Ukrainian who had traveled from Germany was arrested as a suspect shortly after the attack on Thursday in Jaroslaw, the authorities said. According to the public prosecutor's office, the motive was initially unclear. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the “vicious” attack.

According to their own statements, the police were called to the Benedictine abbey in Jaroslaw around 9:30 a.m. The suspect is said to have attacked four men and a woman with a knife. All five victims were taken to hospital, but one of them later died.

The captured 31-year-old came from German territory on Thursday night and was on his way to a nearby border crossing with Ukraine, said prosecutor Bozena Harasz-Woloszyn, according to Polish media. However, he did not cross the border into Ukraine.

Instead, the man went to the Benedictine abbey. There he took a knife in the kitchen and then went to the monastery church. Yaroslav is around 30 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

“Ghastly crime”

According to the prosecutor, an investigation should be carried out to determine what condition the suspect was in and whether he was under the influence of alcohol. Knife attacks are extremely rare in Poland.

Police and public prosecutors did not initially comment on the identity of the fatality to the AFP news agency. Polish media reported that the dead man was a priest.

“I came to the fair,” an eyewitness told TVN. A man hit the priest “in an artery in his neck.” “The priest fell to the ground.” Nun Barbara Dendor told the station that the clergy could hardly understand what had happened. “This is a place I thought was safe.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky described the knife attack as a “horrible crime.” The perpetrator must be held accountable. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the “murderer” would be punished with the “full severity of Polish law.”

Poland has taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians since Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022. Poland is one of Ukraine's most important supporters and a central transit point for Western military and humanitarian aid to the country.

AFP/gold