A knife attack at a grammar school in Spišská Stará Ves, a small town in northern Slovakia, has left two people dead and one in critical condition. Authorities have confirmed that multiple emergency response teams were sent to the scene, though the exact number of additional injuries is unclear. The incident occurred on January 16 in the town of just over 2,000 residents, located near the border with Poland.

Initial reports suggest that the attacker, an 18-year-old student, entered the school armed with a knife. The assailant killed the school's deputy head and one student. The attacker then fled the scene, prompting local authorities to warn residents via the town’s public address system about an armed individual at large. Town hall head Anna Horníková confirmed the security alert, and Mayor Ján Kurňava, who arrived shortly after the attack, expressed his shock, calling it “something terrible.”

Police later identified the suspect as S.S., a student at the school, and announced a manhunt. Reports indicate the assailant stabbed a teacher and two classmates. Authorities later confirmed that the suspect had been apprehended. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, with more details expected to be released soon.

This attack follows a similar incident in 2020, when a former student fatally stabbed the deputy headmaster at a primary school in Vrútky, central Slovakia, while injuring several others. The 2020 attack was reportedly linked to bullying that the assailant had experienced during his time as a student at the school.

Slovakia has seen several high-profile knife attacks over the years. In 2016, a man in Lisková, Ružomberok, was killed after attacking police officers with a military knife. In 2017, a man fatally stabbed his wife in Nová Baňa, central Slovakia. Other knife-related incidents have occurred in various parts of the country, including Banská Bystrica, Košice, and Humenné. In June 2020, a school attack in Vrútky resulted in a fatality and multiple injuries, with the assailant being shot by police.

Despite the alarming frequency of such attacks, police continue to investigate each case, and the public remains on edge following these incidents.

Source: The Slovak Spectator