Hundreds of schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after a bomb threat was sent to some 6,300 educational institutions. This was the latest in a series of incidents targeting infrastructure across Europe.
Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also received emails on Wednesday, but police warned they were likely a hoax and no educational facilities were evacuated.
Italian police told CNN that hundreds of schools across the country had been evacuated. Officials later said they suspected the incident was a hoax.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later said in a video statement that there was no concrete evidence of an attack and all threats were considered fake, but did not rule out the possibility of such threats resurfacing.
“It’s possible that messages like this will arrive again. It’s not a sign that something is wrong, but rather a sign that the person who sent the message has nothing left,” Meloni said, urging against making speculative accusations about who might be behind the message.
Schools across Italy received bomb threats on Wednesday.
A police spokeswoman said authorities were investigating the source of the email, but declined to confirm the email address from which the communication came.
A spokesperson for Italy’s public education ministry told CNN on Wednesday that about 6,300 schools across Italy had received email threats. “It is unclear how many people have been evacuated, but this was a local decision based on advice from local authorities,” the spokesperson added.
In central Rome, dozens of kindergarten and elementary school students enjoyed the holiday as Quirinio Visconti Elementary School was evacuated. The teacher told CNN that parents were notified to pick up the child.
Italy’s prime minister said the government was “doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of our people.”
Schools in the UK and Ireland will also receive emails
More than 300 schools in Northern Ireland have received threatening emails, police said on Wednesday, adding that the messages originated outside the UK and were being treated as hoaxes.
“The investigation is ongoing, but we believe the risk to the public is low at this stage,” Assistant Detective Sergeant Anthony McNally said in a statement.
Education officials said messages sent to “a number of schools” in Northern Ireland were similar to a hoax sent to schools last month and that they were aware of no evidence of a “credible” threat.
Police in the Republic of Ireland said on Wednesday that a general communication had been sent to “a number of educational institutions”. Police said they deemed the threat “not credible” and were not recommending evacuation.
Sharon McGee, a teacher in Dublin, told CNN that her school received a bomb threat at 10:55 a.m. local time (5:55 a.m. ET) but did not evacuate.
“We were just told to be careful in case we noticed something on the grounds, and the day went on as normal,” she said, adding that everyone at the school was able to spend the day safely.
Meanwhile, Police Scotland announced that “threatening messages” had been sent to the school. The force said the message was being treated as a hoax and advised the school that the email alone did not justify evacuation.
Wednesday’s incident is the latest in a series of incidents targeting infrastructure and organizations across Europe.
“Everyone can become a target, which makes it difficult to protect ourselves 100%,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crossetto told CNN on Wednesday, the day before hundreds of schools were evacuated, explaining Italian authorities’ efforts to combat the attacks.
“The purpose of this hybrid war is to destroy this sovereignty and cause panic,” Crossett said.
Last week, a series of hoax bomb threats landed dozens of flights and targeted news organizations across the continent.
And in recent weeks, refrigeration systems in supermarkets in France, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland have been hit by cyberattacks.
The European Union said last week that it was too early to tell whether the bombings were linked, but security analysts and government ministers have suggested the wave could be part of a broader hybrid campaign or a series of malicious disinformation.
This story has been updated as developments occur.
