Killer of Polish mayor also planned attack in Warsaw

Stefan W. (name withheld), the man who fatally stabbed the mayor of the Polish city of Gdansk on Jan. 13 during a charity event, had also planned an attack in Warsaw, local media reported on Friday.

After his release from prison in December, 2018 for a previous offense, the 27-year-old Stefan W. went directly to Warsaw and, at night, tried to break into the grounds of the Presidential Palace, a source close to the investigation told Polish Press Agency (PAP). He failed to force the fence and eventually gave up.

As he explained during interrogation, he came to the Polish capital because "he wanted to do something big, something to be talked about." Earlier, he told another prison inmate he was going to do something "that will make him famous all over the world."

On Jan. 13, Mayor Pawel Adamowicz was stabbed three times by W., who rushed onto the stage during the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity fundraising drive in Gdansk.

The mayor suffered severe cardiac and abdominal injuries. Doctors reanimated Adamowicz on the spot and then transported him to the Medical University of Gdansk hospital, where he underwent five hours of surgery.

Adamowicz died from his injuries on Monday afternoon without regaining consciousness. He was 53 and had served as mayor of Gdansk for 20 years.