Hundreds of schools across Northern Ireland and Scotland received threatening emails on Wednesday, triggering concern among educational institutions and prompting police investigations. Authorities have described the threats as hoaxes.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was investigating threatening messages sent to schools across the region. More than 300 educational institutions have so far reported receiving the same email.
“More than 300 schools have reported to police to date that they received the same threatening email message,” the police said in a statement.
Assistant Chief Constable Anthony McNally said that, based on initial assessments, the risk to the public was currently considered low.
Similar threatening emails were also received by several schools in Scotland, where authorities are likewise treating the incidents as hoaxes.
The incidents occurred as hundreds of schools in Italy were evacuated after receiving bomb threats via email.
