Polish police say one killed in axe attack at Warsaw University

WARSAW: Police said on Wednesday they had detained a 22-year-old Polish man after he killed one person with an axe at Warsaw University, in an attack the institution described as a “huge tragedy”.

“Police have detained a man who entered the University of Warsaw campus. One person died, another was taken to hospital with injuries,” Warsaw Police said in a statement on X. They said the incident occurred at around 6:40 pm (1640 GMT), when the man attacked people on the campus with an axe, adding that the detainee was a 22-year-old Polish citizen.

Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported that the attacker was a third-year law student. Private broadcaster Polsat News reported that a woman’s severed head and an axe had been found at the university. A spokesperson for the district prosecutor’s office declined to comment on whether a severed head had been found.