Polish leader says school attacks were fueled by online glorification of violence– abcnews.com
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EXCERPT:
WARSAW, Poland — The attacks at Polish schools over the past week were “spontaneous acts” driven by the online “glorification of violence,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday.
Three attacks at schools in the Mazovian province in central Poland took place within four days this week, leaving one dead and many wounded, including children.
By Sunday morning, police had detained 117 people across Poland for carrying knives or other dangerous weapons, or for threatening to attack schools or fellow students. Some 64,000 schools were checked.
“We are not dealing with any group organized on a big scale,” Tusk said on Sunday morning, during a crisis meeting with government and security services. “These are very often spontaneous actions inspired by online activity.”
“In the past years and months, we have noted — globally and in Poland — a rise in the fascination with violence.”
Tusk said the acts could be associated with “nihilistic violence,” a term used by authorities to describe acts of violence driven by a nihilistic worldview and misanthropy rather than specific political goals.
In the case of Poland, he said “some of the people detained are active in the ultraright environment.” He said authorities have observed intensified online searches of Nazi content as well as of “mass killers who have become idols online.”
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