A mayor in Poland has been rushed to hospital after being stabbed with a ‘sharp tool’ during a charity event. Pawel Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdansk, had been on stage at the Light to Heaven charity event when he was attacked. Witnesses said the 53-year-old was holding his stomach immediately afterwards. Police in Poland later confirmed on Twitter that they had detained a suspect following the incident.
The attacker on stage
According to Wyborcza, the attacker had grabbed a microphone and told the crowd that he was held in prison despite his innocence. He reportedly shouted: ‘My name is Stefan. I was in prison, despite my innocence. I was tortured.’ The mayor had just finished delivering a speech when the man ran on stage, onlookers said.
Interior minister Joachim Brudzinski wrote online that the attack had been an act of ‘inexcusable barbarity’. The president of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted a message of support, writing: ‘We are with you.’ Mr Adamowicz has been mayor of Gdansk, one of Poland’s largest cities, since 1998.