Ukrainian knifeman kills one, wounds four at abbey in Poland

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy denounces ‘horrific crime’ after 31-year-old attacks clergy and worshippers in border town.

Polish law enforcement officers work at the site of a knife attack in Jaroslaw, eastern Poland [AFP]

One person was killed and four others injured when a man armed with a knife attacked clergy and worshippers at a Catholic monastery in southern Poland.

Police said the 31-year-old attacker, a Ukrainian national, went on a stabbing spree at the 17th-century Benedictine abbey in Jaroslaw, some 30km (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine, on Thursday morning.

list 1 of 2 Catholic Church at a crossroads

list 2 of 2 Poland’s Church and State Alliance

The suspect, who had entered Poland from Germany earlier in the day, reportedly grabbed a knife from the abbey’s kitchen and attacked four men and one woman, including a priest in a confessional, police said.

“Three of the victims are clergy members and two are laypeople; one person has died,” said prosecutor Bozena Harasz-Wołoszyn. Two others were in “critical, life-threatening condition”.

Polish media identified the man who died as a priest. Police did not immediately confirm the identity of the deceased.

Prosecutors said the attacker was headed for a nearby border crossing back into Ukraine but instead went to the abbey.

The motive remains unclear, and doctors will assess whether he was under the influence of alcohol, Harasz-Wołoszyn said.

A man stands behind police tape at the site of a knife attack in Jaroslaw, southeastern Poland, on Thursday [Gazeta Jaroslawska via AFP]

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the “murderer” would be “punished with the full severity of Polish law”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack a “horrific crime”.

“The perpetrator of this evil must bear full responsibility in accordance with the law … We are shaken by this evil. Justice must be done.”

The mayor of Jaroslaw, Marcin Nazarewicz, declared a period of mourning until the end of the week.

Stabbings, particularly at religious sites, are extremely rare in Poland, one of Europe’s most Catholic countries.

乌克兰总统泽连斯基谴责一名31岁男子在边境小镇袭击神职人员和信徒的“骇人听闻的罪行”。

波兰执法人员在波兰东部城市雅罗斯瓦夫发生的持刀袭击事件现场进行调查。[法新社]

在波兰南部的一座天主教修道院，一名持刀男子袭击了神职人员和信徒，造成一人死亡，四人受伤。

警方称，这名 31 岁的袭击者是乌克兰公民，周四上午在距离乌克兰边境约 30 公里（19 英里）的雅罗斯拉夫一座 17 世纪的本笃会修道院内持刀行凶。

列表 1/2 十字路口的天主教堂

列表 2/2 波兰教会与国家联盟

据警方称，嫌疑人当天早些时候从德国进入波兰，随后从修道院厨房拿了一把刀，袭击了四名男子和一名女子，其中包括一名正在忏悔的神父。

检察官博泽娜·哈拉什-沃沃申表示：“三名遇难者是神职人员，两名是平民；一人已经死亡。”另有两人伤势严重，生命垂危。

波兰媒体称死者是一名神父。警方尚未立即确认死者身份。

检察官称，袭击者原本打算前往附近的边境口岸返回乌克兰，但却去了修道院。

哈拉什-沃沃申表示，作案动机尚不清楚，医生将评估他是否受到酒精的影响。

周四，在波兰东南部城市雅罗斯瓦夫，一名男子站在持刀袭击事件现场的警戒线后。[Gazeta Jaroslawska via AFP]

波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克表示，“凶手”将“受到波兰法律的严惩”。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基称此次袭击是“骇人听闻的罪行”。

“作恶者必须依法承担全部责任……我们对此感到震惊。正义必须得到伸张。”

雅罗斯瓦夫市市长马尔钦·纳扎列维奇宣布，全市进入哀悼期，直至本周末。

波兰是欧洲天主教信仰最虔诚的国家之一，但在此发生持刀伤人事件，尤其是在宗教场所发生的持刀伤人事件，极其罕见。