Schools across Italy evacuated after bomb threats; similar hoax emails reported in UK and Ireland

Schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday November 11 after receiving a series of bomb threats by email prompting security checks across the country Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of any concrete danger as authorities investigated the messages sent to thousands of educational institutionsAccording to Italian news agency ANSA citing the Education Ministry around 6000 schools received the threatening emails Other reports put the figure at approximately 6300 Hundreds of schools evacuated students as a precaution although the exact number was not immediately clearSimilar threatening messages were also reported by schools in Britain and Ireland including Scotland and Northern Ireland Police in these regions said the emails were being treated as hoaxes and advised schools against evacuating solely on the basis of the messagesStudents evacuated as police conduct checksIn Italy large groups of students were seen waiting outside their schools after being asked to leave the premises Some said they had to evacuate quickly and were unable to collect their belongings before security checks beganSofia De Ponte a 19yearold student at Romes Virgilio High School told AFP that the principal informed students about the threat before ordering an evacuationThe principal came out into the courtyard and told us that an email had come in a bomb threat and right after that the building was evacuated she saidHer fellow student Elena Sicignano said police had yet to arrive because several schools were awaiting checksWere still here waiting she saidVioletta Uboldi an art teacher at Brera School in Milan said some students appeared relieved that classes had been interrupted However 16yearold student Angelica said she and her classmates were initially frightened because a teacher told them the situation was not a drillMeloni says no concrete danger identifiedMeloni called a meeting with government ministers and security and intelligence officials to discuss the threats and coordinate the responseAt present based on the checks carried out no element has emerged that would suggest there is a concrete danger Meloni said in a Facebook postShe added that the reports appeared to be part of a strategy intended to create alarm and concern and that authorities were investigating their originItalian media reports said one of the emails was signed by a person identifying himself as Mikhail Andropov leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan The message claimed that an explosive device had been placed inside a school buildingAntonello Giannelli president of the ANP association of Italian school heads described the threats as fake but warned that such messages could cause widespread disruptionUK and Ireland police treat threats as hoaxesSimilar emails were reported by hundreds of schools in Britain and Ireland on WednesdayThe Police Service of Northern Ireland PSNI said more than 300 schools had reported receiving the same threatening message Police said the email originated outside the UK and that initial checks had not revealed anything suspiciousAssistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said the risk to the public was low although investigations were continuingPolice Scotland also confirmed that schools had received threatening messages and said they had been assessed as hoaxes The force advised schools that there was no requirement to evacuate or keep children away from classes based solely on the emails However media reports said some Scottish schools had evacuated students and sent them homeIn Ireland police said the messages had been assessed as not credible and advised educational institutions against evacuating Authorities received a large volume of calls from schools seeking guidanceThreats add to concerns over cyber disruptionsThe latest incidents come amid a series of false bomb alerts targeting flights and media organisations across Europe as well as reported cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in several countries including ItalyItalian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said recently that cyber criminals had targeted him by sharing his personal information online because of Italys support for UkraineWith inputs from AFP