Police failures exposed after deadly knife attack at school

An 18-year-old student has been charged with premeditated murder following last Thursday’s knife attack at a grammar school in Spišská Stará Ves, eastern Slovakia. According to an investigator from the Office for Combating Organised Crime, the suspect faces charges for crimes both committed and attempted.

The attack claimed the lives of two victims: 51-year-old deputy principal and teacher Mária Semančíková and 18-year-old student Alena. A third victim, another 18-year-old student named Barbora, sustained injuries and required surgery after being transported to a hospital in Poprad.

Police spokesperson Martina Sláviková confirmed on Saturday, January 18, that the investigator had requested pre-trial detention for the suspect. A prosecutor has already submitted this motion.

“There is a well-founded concern that if released, the suspect, S. S. [Samuel], might flee or continue criminal activities,” said Michal Sovič, spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Prešov in eastern Slovakia.

The Specialised Criminal Court has now approved the request, but the decision remains subject to appeal, writes Korzár.

The investigation remains ongoing. If convicted of premeditated murder, the suspect could face a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment.

Chilling details

Meanwhile, new details about the fatal attack carried out by the student have emerged from the court ruling on his detention.

According to the documents, at around 12:40, the student entered the school principal’s office, where he found the deputy principal. He believed he was about to be expelled from school. Armed with a 19cm fixed-blade tactical knife, concealed in a black bag, he approached and fatally attacked the deputy.

He then moved to the first floor, leaving his bag and jacket in the hallway outside a classroom where students were taking a test. Knife in hand, he entered the classroom, targeting a fellow student, Alena, whom he believed had been spreading rumours about him. Another student, Barbora, attempted to intervene but was also attacked and injured.

The teacher present in the classroom ran to find help, only to discover the lifeless body in the school principal’s office. Meanwhile, students fled down the stairs and out of the school.

Alena, injured but still mobile, tried to escape the classroom. However, the attacker chased her into the hallway, where he stabbed her several more times. She succumbed to her injuries.

The perpetrator fled into a nearby forest but was apprehended by police at 13:50. Along the way, he discarded his mobile phone, smart watch, ID card, and bag.

In police custody, he admitted to planning to kill two more individuals, whom he blamed for “ruining his life.”

A fellow student told authorities that the attacker had expressed extremist views. Fluent in German, he was known to occasionally perform Nazi salutes in class. He also made derogatory remarks about Roma people, stating they should be exterminated, and boasted about having assaulted Roma individuals in the town of Lučenec.

Previously convicted

The teenager responsible for the attack had a history of violent behaviour, court records reveal.

According to Aktuality.sk, the attacker assaulted a female classmate by the Ľubický Potok stream in Kežmarok on February 3, 2022, striking her in the face and causing injury. At the time, he was in his final year of primary school. The court convicted him of disorderly conduct, sentencing him to a four-month suspended prison term with an 18-month probation period under supervision. Additionally, a restraining order was issued, barring him from approaching the victim within five metres or being near her home. Reports suggest he was briefly held in custody over the incident.

The teenager was also convicted of making criminal threats. On December 17, 2021, after being removed from an online class, he sent threatening messages to female classmates. In these, he blamed one student for his exclusion and threatened to “beat her up,” while also claiming he would “beat and even kill them all.” Despite the severity of the threats, the court deemed a separate ruling sufficient and refrained from imposing further punishment.

Two days before the school knife attack, a court decision was made regarding his psychiatric treatment, as reported by Pluska.sk. On January 14, the Kežmarok branch of the Poprad District Court rejected a prosecutor’s proposal for compulsory psychiatric treatment in a secure facility. The court ruled that the conditions for such treatment had not been met, citing the absence of evidence linking the crime to a mental disorder. The prosecutor has since appealed the decision to the Regional Court in Prešov.

Police failures

On Saturday, January 18, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok announced the dismissal of Police Chief Ľubomír Solák and the head of the district police in Spišská Stará Ves, citing failures in preventative measures. Teachers and students had reportedly warned police about the perpetrator’s troubling behaviour prior to the attack, writes Korzár.

“They knew he was a problem, that he instilled fear and could be dangerous,” Minister Šutaj Eštok said.

The Interior Ministry’s Police Inspectorate has launched a criminal investigation into possible negligence by public officials. Charges of dereliction of duty are being pursued, spokesperson Andrea Dobiášová confirmed.

Branislav Zurian, head of the Police Inspectorate, disclosed that a week before the tragedy, teachers provided police with a 22-page dossier detailing the suspect’s threatening behaviour. However, the local police dismissed the threats as bullying and failed to take appropriate action.

“This was a clear failure,” Zurian stated.

Systemic failures

Samuel began his secondary education in the town of Lučenec, southern Slovakia, studying at the Božena Slančíková-Timrava Grammar School during the 2022/2023 school year, despite being from Ľubica, near Poprad in eastern Slovakia. He reportedly lived with his grandmother in Lučenec during that time. It is unclear whether he caused trouble at this school.

Anna Kromková, the principal of the grammar school in Spišská Stará Ves, revealed to the media that the school had previously recommended Samuel switch to individual study instead of attending regular classes. This decision was made after his promotion to the third year, which began this school year. He was placed on an individual study programme following complaints from female classmates about verbal attacks that left them feeling afraid.

According to Kromková, his behaviour was discussed at a parents’ meeting where the student’s mother was informed of his actions. Kromková recounted that the mother responded by asking whether her son had directly messaged anyone. Eventually, she acknowledged that her son had a history of similar behaviour, revealing that he had posted offensive comments online as far back as Year 9 in primary school.

Kromková also disclosed troubling details, including Samuel’s admission that he faced a court case in Year 9 for harming a girl. “Until recently, he hadn’t mentioned he was under probation supervision. No one from probation contacted us. We had no idea,” she said.

The incident highlights systemic failures in Slovakia, where institutions often fail to exchange critical information, leaving schools and students vulnerable.

Reflecting on recent events, Kromková stated: “If I had known then what I know now, he wouldn’t have been with us at all.”