Ukrainian suspect arrested after fatal stabbing at Polish abbey

A Ukrainian man was arrested on Thursday after a knife attack at a Catholic abbey in southeastern Poland left one person dead and four others injured.

Police said the 31-year-old suspect attacked four men and a woman at the 17th-century abbey in Jarosław, around 30 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

The attack took place at approximately 9:30 am, when police received reports of a stabbing.

Polish media identified the person killed as a priest. Police confirmed the death to AFP but did not verify the victim’s identity.

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

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński also addressed the attack in a post on X.

“Tragic events in Jarosław. A Ukrainian citizen was immediately detained by the police after an attack on five people. The services are investigating the motives and circumstances of the incident,” he wrote.

According to prosecutors, the suspect had entered Poland from Germany and was travelling towards the Ukrainian border. Instead, he went to the abbey, where he allegedly took a knife from the kitchen and attacked clergy members and worshippers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, describing it as a “horrific crime.”

“The perpetrator of this evil must bear full responsibility in accordance with the law,” he said.

“We are shaken by this evil,” Zelenskyy added. “Justice must be done.”

Local newspaper Gazeta Jarosławska published photographs showing fire engines and police vehicles outside the monastery, with its entrance cordoned off.

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