Again bomb threats against hundreds of schools in Italy

Hundreds of schools in Italy have again received bomb threats via email. According to media reports, some educational institutions were evacuated. However, the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says it has informed the local authorities and respective school managements through the responsible ministries that school operations should continue as normal.

Around 6,000 schools had already received such threatening emails on Wednesday. According to the Ansa news agency, around 1,800 establishments received threats today. However, there were no unusual findings in the affected schools.

Government wants to limit evacuations

The Italian government now wants to adopt a new operational protocol for dealing with danger reports. Accordingly, buildings should generally no longer be evacuated in the future unless there is concrete evidence of an actual danger. However, the authorities retain the authority to order evacuations if there are concrete indications of danger.

Meloni said in a video message that the threatening emails were not intended to actually strike, but rather to intimidate those who receive them. “Whoever sends them wants one thing above all: our fear,” said the politician. At no time were there any indications at the schools “that indicate a specific danger.”

Authorities are investigating the background

It is not known who exactly is behind the news. Meloni emphasized that she would not make any assumptions. The Italian authorities worked together with European partners to determine the background.

The incidents in Italy are part of a series of bomb threats and cyberattacks that have recently affected radio stations, supermarkets, blood banks and air traffic control across most of Europe. Some European officials suspect Russia was behind the disruptive actions to stoke uncertainty and disrupt everyday life in states that support Ukraine.