Some of Poland’s largest retailers are clearing Halloween-themed products from their shelves following a wave of stabbing attacks.
More than 20,000 police officers have been deployed to schools since the end of last week after two knife incidents involving teenagers broke out on consecutive days. On Wednesday (7 October), a 19-year-old wounded 10 people including himself at a school in Ostroleka, north of the capital.
On Thursday, a 15-year-old former pupil wearing a helmet-mounted camera killed a caretaker and injured two other staff members at a primary school in Leszczydol-Nowiny, northeast of Warsaw. A third attack occurred on Saturday, when three people were injured at a further education college in Warsaw.
What’s behind Poland’s school stabbings?
Politicians have blamed the sudden spate of attacks on social media – including pro Nazi ideology – and violent video games. Police have detained 135 people since Friday after inspecting 80,000 schools.
"A clear message is required: there will be no tolerance for any attacks on Polish children, nor for the descent of public life into anarchy," said Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski on Sunday evening.
In one incident, a boy, who was found to possess a gun, ammunition and knives, created a model of his school in the video game Roblox and simulated attacks on students, police said.
"We have observed a rise in the fascination with violence, both in Poland and worldwide,” said Polish Prime Minister Donland Tusk. “We are witnessing a grim trend of violence.”
Halloween knives stripped from stores
Major retailers, including Poland’s largest retail chain Jeronimo Martins’ Biedronka, have announced they would scale back their Halloween ranges as a result of the attacks.
This is reported to include removing fake knives and ‘gruesome’ costumes from the shop floor that may ‘arouse unintended associations’.
Children’s retailer Smyk has also started pulling accessories that ‘imitate dangerous tools’ such as plastic knives and cleavers from its stores.
“We believe that in the current circumstances, the presence of such items on the shelves of a store whose offer is directed to families is inappropriate,” the company said.
Although Halloween is not a traditional Polish holiday, it is widely celebrated in the country – particularly amongst younger people.