Poland's third youth stabbing attack in four days prompts copycat fears

Three people were injured in a stabbing attack at a further education college in Warsaw on Saturday, police said, the latest in a series of incidents that have stoked concerns in Poland about copycat violence among young people. 

On Friday thousands of police visited schools nationwide to try to reassure pupils after two stabbing sprees by teenagers in as many days sparked rumors of potential further attacks, fears that Saturday's incident is likely to intensify.

"At 12:30 today, we received a report of an incident involving the use of a dangerous weapon," police spokesperson Jakub Filipiak said.

"One person was injured and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Two other bystanders also sustained injuries but did not require hospitalization."

He said the attacker was a 21-year-old student of the college.

State news agency PAP reported that the victims were two 17-year-old girls and a 24-year-old woman who had come to submit enrollment documents. Preliminary police findings indicated that the attacker and victims did not know one other, PAP reported.

Police said on Saturday they had inspected some 50,000 facilities since Friday and detained 76 people. Authorities had previously said most of the people detained were teenagers who had made threats online.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old former pupil wearing a helmet-mounted camera killed a caretaker and injured two teachers at a primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw. On Wednesday, a 19-year-old wounded 10 people including himself at a school in Ostroleka, north of the capital.