UPDATE 1 - Following one person being shot dead and another badly injured after a knife and gun attack at the local Law and Justice (PiS) HQ in Lodz, central Poland this morning, Jaroslaw Kaczynski has blamed the “atmosphere of hate” against his party for the incident.
“Sixty two year-old, Marek Rosiak, an assistant of MEP Janusz Wojciechowski, was shot and a 39-year-old man, MP Jaroslaw Jagiello’s assistant, was stabbed. The perpetrator carried a knife and an air gun,” said Magdalena Zielinska from Lodz Police Headquarters.
Police have detained Ryszard L., a 62-year old resident of the southern city of Czestochowa who will face murder charges. Police say the man has a criminal record.
The injured person, the victim of the stabbing, has been taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Police outsider Law and Justice HQ, Lodz; photo - PAP“Kill Kaczynski”
“I was in my room when suddenly a man burst into the office and fired six to eight shots screaming: “Kill Kaczynski!”,” an employee at the party HQ told reporters.
Before the attack the man was seen walking agitatedly around a nearby park screaming anti-Law and Justice slogans, said witnesses.
At a press conference soon after the attack, Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski blamed a hate campaign by the government and media against his party.
“The attack results from a hatred campaign which was launched against the Law and Justice party,” said Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
“Every word that is a continuation of this hatred campaign against Law and Justice will be treated as a call to murder,” he claimed.
In Kaczynski’s opinion the hatred intensified after the Smolensk air disaster in April when people who prayed at the cross situated outside of the Presidential Palace were physically abused.
The party leader added that the government is responsible for the safety of Law and Justice politicians and party supporters.
Boiling point
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said later in the afternoon that the tragedy at the Law and Justice HQ should not be used to poison the political atmosphere in Poland still further.
“This is a moment to restore a normal situation in the country instead of heating up disputes to the boiling point. This tragic death should not result in the Polish political stage becoming a scene for politicians panting with hatred.”
Donald Tusk called for peace and hopes that Poles will finally learn how to control themselves.
“It’s a tragedy that we all are experiencing,” he said.
Head of the Law and Justice parliamentary club Mariusz Blaszczak said that the party will request an emergency meeting of the parliamentary committees on justice and human rights and special services in relation to the attack on the Law and Justice office. (mg/pg)
Source: IAR, PAP