The mayor of the Polish city of Gdansk remains in a critical condition in hospital, after he was stabbed by an attacker while on stage at a charity event.
Pawel Adamowicz was attacked by a knife-wielding man during the finale of a national charity event organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, one of Poland’s largest charities.
The Guardian reports that Adamowicz was “resuscitated at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent surgery”. Doctors say he remains in critical condition.
Hundreds of people witnessed the attack, when a 27-year-old man rushed the stage, stabbed Adamowicz in the abdomen before taking the microphone to shout a political message.
The attacker claimed to have been “wrongly jailed by the previous centrist government of the Civic Platform (PO) and tortured”, France24 reports.
“Hello! Hello! My name is Stefan. I sat innocent in prison, I sat innocent in prison. Civic Platform tortured me, and that’s why Adamowicz is dead,” the attacker said.
Adamowicz was previously a member of Poland’s pro-European Civic Platform, which governed Poland between 2007 and 2015, when he quit the party to run as an independent.
The attacker was quickly subdued by security staff and arrested by police, who say the man – identified only as Stefan W. – has a criminal record for bank robbery and other violent crimes.
Following the attack, Polish president Andrzej Duda said: “Today I am unconditionally with him and his loved ones, just as I hope all of us compatriots are. I pray for his return to health and full strength.”