Bomb threats lead to evacuations at Italian schools, hoaxes reported in UK and Ireland
Hundreds of Italian schools were evacuated after receiving bomb threat emails, while authorities in the United Kingdom and Ireland treated similar messages as likely hoaxes.
Police in Italy evacuated hundreds of schools on Wednesday after bomb threat emails were sent to the institutions, the Italian police spokesperson told CNN. The exact number of schools was not confirmed, as each school decided whether to evacuate based on local police advice.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said about 300 schools had received the messages and described them as part of broader cyber-attack activity rather than a genuine danger. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of a concrete threat and that the government was monitoring the situation closely, adding that officials were taking all necessary steps to protect citizens.
In Rome, the Quirinio Visconti primary school was evacuated, and teachers informed parents that children could be collected for the day.
In the United Kingdom, more than 300 schools in Northern Ireland received a threatening email that police said originated outside the country and was being treated as a hoax. Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said risk to the public was considered low. The Education Authority noted the message resembled a previous hoax and found no evidence of a credible threat.
Police in the Republic of Ireland reported a generic communication sent to several educational establishments, assessing the threat as not credible and advising against evacuations. Police Scotland also received threatening emails to schools and treated them as hoaxes, stating that the messages alone did not justify evacuation.
The incidents follow a recent wave of hoax bomb threats that disrupted flights and media operations across Europe.