Polish city mayor in serious condition after being stabbed at Gdansk charity event

An ambulance believed to be carrying mayor of Gdansk Pawel Adamowicz rushes to hospital
EPA
James Morris13 January 2019

The mayor of a Polish city has been stabbed while on stage at a charity event.

Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz was "in a very serious condition" on Sunday night, Poland's interior minister Joachim Brudzinski said.

He was attacked with a sharp tool during the fundraising event by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

Mr Adamowicz was then seen holding his stomach, broadcaster TVN said. A suspect has been arrested.

Mayor of Gdansk Pawel Adamowicz speaks at the charity event on Sunday - shortly before the stabbing
Reuters

A man reportedly rushed onto the stage at about 8pm local time, shouting that he was imprisoned under the government of Civic Platform: a party to which the mayor formerly belonged.

Mr Brudzinski called the stabbing "an act of inexplicable barbarity".

A man is held on the ground by security personnel after mayor Pawel Adamowicz was stabbed
Piotr Hukalo/AFP/Getty Images

Mr Adamowicz was being treated at the city's University Clinical Center on Sunday night.

European Council president Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who co-founded Civil Platform and is from Gdansk, said: "Let's all pray for Mayor Adamowicz. Pawel, we are with you."

Pawel Adamowicz speaks with people at the charity event on Sunday
Reuters

President Andrzej Duda said that while he and the mayor have had political differences, "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".

Mr Adamowicz has been mayor of Gdansk, a Baltic port city, since 1998.

A general view of the University Clinical Center, in which wounded mayor of Gdansk Pawel Adamowicz was being treated on Sunday night
EPA

As mayor, he is seen as a progressive voice, supporting LGBT rights and minority groups.

Mr Adamowicz showed solidarity with the Jewish community when the city's synagogue had its windows broken last year. He strongly denounced the vandalism.

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, one of Poland's leading charities, raises money for medical equipment in Poland's cash-strapped healthcare system.

Reporting by Associated Press.

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