On Friday morning, October 2, another high-profile incident of aggression occurred in Bratislava. At the “Botanical Garden” (Botanická záhrada) bus stop, an unknown man armed with a knife suddenly attacked a group of students from Comenius University’s Faculty of Medicine. Thanks to the students’ quick reaction, they managed to escape, and none of them were injured. The attacker was apprehended by the police.
Chronology of the incident: escape from the attacker and arrest
According to Tomáš, an eyewitness to the incident, at around 7:35 a.m., the medical students were calmly waiting for public transportation when an aggressive man with a drawn knife suddenly lunged at one of them. The frightened students scattered in different directions.
When buses No. 29 and No. 32 pulled up to the stop, the assailant ran off and crossed the four-lane road. Thanks to a prompt call to law enforcement, a police patrol apprehended the suspect right on Botanická Street and escorted him to the police station. Michal Szeiff, a spokesperson for the Bratislava Region Police, confirmed the arrest and noted that the circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation.
Reaction from Authorities and University Administration
The incident sparked a wave of outrage among government officials and educators. Health Minister Kamil Šaško emphasized that the rise in violent incidents in society is unacceptable:
“We cannot allow young people to be afraid to go to school, ride public transportation, or simply go out on the street, while parents worry for their children’s lives. A single word can either calm the situation or escalate it, so I urge everyone to stop hate speech,” Shashko stated.
Robert Żembera, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, and Marek Sztewczek, rector of Comenius University, drew attention to the alarming context: the attack occurred just a few days after the tragic incident in Stashkov (where a knife attack took place at a school) and on the anniversary of the tragedy on Zohova Street.
The university rector has already announced that he has offered the affected students immediate psychological support at the university’s counseling center and has also promised to strengthen security measures in cooperation with law enforcement agencies on campus and throughout the city.
