Hundreds of schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Serbia received threatening messages on Monday warning that bombs had been planted in their buildings. Some schools were evacuated, and local authorities believe the messages were hoaxes. It remains unknown whether the incidents are connected.
Nearly 300 schools in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, “almost 300 schools reported receiving the same (threatening) message by email”, police said, adding that they considered it a hoax. According to local police, the message “originated from outside the United Kingdom”.
Northern Ireland’s Education Minister Paul Givan said earlier that the threat “appears to come from Islamists stating that sharia (Islamic law) will be imposed in the country and that real explosive devices have been placed” in schools.
Some schools closed as a result of the threat.
Investigation in Scotland
At the same time, Police Scotland announced that it was investigating “threatening messages sent to a number of schools”, without specifying the nature of the threat. Here too, the authorities believe the messages were a hoax.
More than 70 schools named in Hungary
In Hungary, threatening messages were sent to media outlets, claiming that bombs had been placed in more than 70 schools across the country. Many of the schools were evacuated, but police found no bombs in the buildings.
“Based on the investigations carried out so far, these threats are considered unfounded,” Hungarian Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai wrote on Facebook.
More than 100 schools in Serbia
In Serbia, public broadcaster RTS reported that more than 100 schools had also received threatening messages about bombs.
With information from in.gr
