Ukrainian man kills priest, wounds 4 at Polish abbey

A 31-year-old Ukrainian man killed a priest and wounded four others during a knife attack at the Benedictine sisters' abbey in Jaroslaw, Poland, on Sept. 24. Police arrested the suspect at the scene shortly after receiving the first report around 9:30 a.m.

The attack occurred just before a morning Mass at the Church of St. Nicholas and St. Stanislaus, located within the Center for Christian Formation and Culture on the abbey grounds. According to prosecutors, the suspect entered the abbey complex and began the violence in the kitchen area using a knife taken from the kitchen before moving toward the church.

Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz died from his injuries in the hospital. Two other priests remained in serious condition on Sept. 25 after undergoing surgery, according to the director of the hospital in Jaroslaw. The other two victims were laypeople, a man and a woman, who reportedly attempted to help.

Prosecutors have not established a motive or determined how the suspect arrived at the abbey. The presidents of Poland and Ukraine issued condemnations following the incident.