At least 300 schools in Italy have been evacuated following bomb threats received by email. Students, teachers and staff were led out of the buildings while police, Carabinieri, bomb squads and cyber police carried out checks.
The messages were sent to schools in different parts of the country. The email claimed that a powerful remotely detonated explosive device had been placed in the buildings. The text also contained threats against Italians and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. According to Reuters, the message was signed with the name Mikhail Andropov and the fictitious designation “Vilayat of Misogynistan”.
Italian authorities have found no evidence of a specific danger. “At present, the checks carried out have not produced any element indicating the presence of a specific danger,” Meloni said. According to her, the alerts appear more likely to be linked to a strategy aimed at creating alarm and anxiety.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara reported that around 300 schools had been affected and warned that the number could rise. In some areas, classes were temporarily suspended, and students were gathered in courtyards, parks or other safe places. In Puglia and Umbria, the checks were completed without any explosive devices being found.
Checks in Rome, Turin and Milan
More than 50 schools were evacuated in the Lazio region, while at least 25 alerts were received from educational institutions in Turin. Police teams and specialist explosive detection dogs were sent to Milan and the surrounding areas. Alerts were also reported by schools in Trieste, Venice, Naples, Brescia and other cities.
Police in Rome have launched an investigation into the origin of the messages. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said it was too early to speak of overall coordination behind the threats. “Investigators must rule on the hypothesis of a coordinated operation,” he said.
Prime Minister Meloni has convened a meeting of ministers and representatives of the security services for 4 p.m. local time. The authorities are also examining a possible link to a similar email sent in early November to around 280 school principals in Italy.
The new threats come against the backdrop of a series of alerts targeting European airlines, media outlets and other institutions. At present, there is no evidence that Italian schools were a genuine target of a bombing attack, and the checks are continuing.
Sources: internazionale.it, apnews.com, ansa.it