Poles unite in shock, grief over assassination of Gdansk mayor
WARSAW, Poland — The popular liberal mayor of Poland’s port city of Gdansk died Monday after being stabbed at a charity event by an ex-convict with a history of violent crime. The killing plunged the politically divided country into shock and grief and brought Poles into the streets for solemn vigils in a rare show of national unity.
Pawel Adamowicz, 53, died from the wounds inflicted by a 27-year-old man who stormed onstage Sunday evening while the mayor was addressing an audience during the “Lights to Heaven,” the finale of a nationwide fundraiser for sick children.
Adamowicz had just expressed gratitude to the “generous” crowd, adding: “This is a wonderful time of sharing good things. You are dear. Gdansk is the most wonderful city in the world. Thank you!”
That’s when the assailant rushed up and stabbed him three times, then grabbed a microphone to tell the audience that he acted in revenge against the country’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, which Adamowicz was a member of for many years but left it in 2015.
With the music still playing and pyrotechnics erupting onstage, the attacker told the stunned crowd he had been wrongly imprisoned under a Civic Platform-led government.
“I was jailed but innocent . ... Civic Platform tortured me. That’s why Adamowicz just died,” he said.
Adamowicz was taken to a hospital, where doctors struggled to save him, but a five-hour operation and blood transfusions were not enough, given the gravity of the injuries.
The assassination comes while the nation is torn by bitter political divisions that are similar in many ways to those in the United States.
The right-wing ruling Law and Justice party faced accusations that a hostile atmosphere against Adamowicz and other liberals has created fertile ground for violence.
Government officials pushed back against that accusation, strongly denouncing the attack and stressing the assailant had a history of violent bank robberies.
Identified by authorities only as Stefan W., he was arrested and charged Monday with murder.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Krzysztof Sierak said there were questions about the mental state of the attacker, who used a 14.5-centimetre knife on Adamowicz, and that two psychiatrists will examine him. He had served 5 ⁄ years in prison and was released toward the end of last year.
President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the ruling party, opened a news conference with a minute of silence and said a day of national mourning will be observed when Adamowicz’s family holds his funeral, which was not yet announced. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Duda called Adamowicz a “truly great human being, a great politician and great resident of Gdansk,” and denounced the attack as an act of unimaginable evil.
Ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s most powerful politician, expressed his “great pain” and solidarity with Adamowicz’s family.
In the evening, solemn vigils were held in Gdansk, Warsaw and other cities. Many carried candles in glass jars and some used cellphones to produce flickers of light, an apparent reference to the “Lights to Heaven” event where Adamowicz was attacked.
In Warsaw, the capital, some held a big banner reading “Stop Hate.”
Donald Tusk, a founder of Civic Platform who was prime minister when the attacker was imprisoned and who is now president of the European Council, joined mourners in Gdansk, also his hometown.
“I want to promise you today, dear Pawel, that for you and for all of us, we will defend our Gdansk, our Poland and our Europe from hatred and contempt,” Tusk told the crowd.
The city flag was lowered to halfstaff and Masses were held in Gdansk, Warsaw and elsewhere.
Many people in Gdansk had donated blood for Adamowicz, with some saying they were given time off work.
Adamowicz was part of the democratic opposition formed in Gdansk under the leadership of Lech Walesa during the 1980s. After leaving Civic Platform, he was re-elected to a sixth term as an independent candidate in the fall.
As mayor, he was a progressive voice, promoting sex education in schools and tolerance for LGBT people and minorities.