Italy bomb-hoax email now hit 6,000 schools, UK and Ireland targeted too
The anonymous bomb threat that forced evacuations across Italy on Wednesday reached about 6,000 schools, with similar emails sent to schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Update ·
Bomb-hoax email reached about 6,000 Italian schools, far more than first reported, and also hit schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
All 3 updates ↓An anonymous email claiming a bomb had been planted inside a plastic bag reached about 6,000 schools across Italy on Wednesday, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said, far more than the roughly 300 institutions first reported to have been evacuated.
The message, signed by a self-styled "Mikhail Andropov", leader of an invented group, threatened violence against Italians and claimed a device had also been placed in the prime minister's car, Il Messaggero and Sky TG24 reported. No explosive device was found at any school checked, officials said.
Schools were evacuated in Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Genoa, Rimini, Umbria and La Spezia, among other areas, La Nazione and Il Messaggero reported. In Rome, the Lambruschini primary school was among those cleared, TGCom24 reported.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened ministers, intelligence chiefs and cybersecurity officials at Palazzo Chigi on Wednesday afternoon to coordinate the response, and said in a video statement that there was no evidence of a concrete danger. "These messages aren't meant to strike us, they're meant to frighten us," she said, adding that investigators were working with European counterparts to identify who was responsible.
Hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland also received similar threatening emails, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano and Politico Europe, in what officials described as a wider wave of hoax threats affecting several European countries.
Prosecutors in Genoa opened a file for causing a false alarm, disrupting a public service and making serious threats, offences that could be treated as more serious if a terrorism motive is established, Sky TG24 reported. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said anyone could send such an email with tools available today and that not every such threat reflects a foreign strategy.
Education officials said schools across Italy would reopen as normal on Thursday. A similar hoax email had been sent to 280 Italian headteachers in the days before Wednesday's wave, ANSA reported.
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What we know
- An anonymous bomb-threat email reached about 6,000 Italian schools on Wednesday, up from roughly 300 first reported, the education minister said
- No explosive device was found at any school checked by police and firefighters
- Similar threatening emails were also sent to hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Prime Minister Meloni convened intelligence and cybersecurity chiefs and said there was no evidence of concrete danger
- Genoa prosecutors opened an investigation into the threats; schools are due to reopen normally on Thursday
Not yet confirmed
- Unconfirmed Who sent the emails and whether a single group or individual is behind the wider European wave of threats
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Why it matters for Europe
The hoax follows a wave of bomb threats against Italian targets including flights, supermarkets and hospitals in recent weeks, officials said, and now appears linked to similar threats against schools in the UK and Ireland on the same day. Even when no device is found, such threats force thousands of pupils and staff out of buildings and tie up police, fire crews and prosecutors across several countries at once.
Updates
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Bomb-hoax email reached about 6,000 Italian schools, far more than first reported, and also hit schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Rome's Lambruschini primary school and schools in Rimini were also hit by the hoax bomb threat.
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The Russoli art lyceum in Pisa was also evacuated over the hoax bomb threat, La Nazione reports.
First published.
Sources
Reported by 33 reports from 24 independent outlets in 7 countries.
- La Nazione: Allarme bomba nelle scuole, minacce choc via mail. Evacuati diversi istituti in Toscana, Umbria e alla Spezia. “Siamo qui per annientarvi”
- Il Messaggero: Allarme bomba in 300 scuole d'Italia, la mail: C' un ordigno in un sacchetto. Siamo venuti per annientarvi, di voi rimarranno solo ossa
- Il Messaggero: Allarme bomba in 300 scuole d'Italia, l'email anonima: C' un ordigno in un sacchetto. Siamo venuti per annientarvi, di voi rimarrano solo ossa
- ANSA: Allarme bomba in decine di scuole in Italia, partito da una mail anonima
- La Nazione: Allarme bomba nelle scuole di Arezzo e provincia: evacuazioni in corso
Source balance
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Intelligence file
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Confidence and impact scores, 43 more sources, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- How many schools were affected in Italy?
- About 6,000 schools received the threatening email, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said, far more than the roughly 300 first reported as evacuated.
- Was a bomb found?
- No explosive device has been found at any of the schools checked so far, officials said.
- Did this affect other countries?
- Yes, hundreds of schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland received similar threatening emails on the same day.
This article was written with AI assistance from 48 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.