About 300 Schools in Italy Evacuated After Emailed Bomb Threats Officials Call a Hoax

The update

About 300 schools across Italy received emailed bomb threats on Wednesday and many were evacuated as a precaution, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said. The messages reached schools in Rome, Naples, Florence, Pisa, Trieste and Vicenza, among other cities. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks had found no evidence of concrete danger and that the reports appeared intended to cause alarm. Pupils were allowed to return after checks proved negative. More than 300 schools in Northern Ireland received similar emails police treated as a hoax, and messages in Scotland were also treated as a hoax.

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Why it matters

The wave follows bomb hoaxes that disrupted Italian airports and airlines elsewhere in Europe last week. Valditara described a clear strategy behind threats that have also targeted flights, supermarkets and hospitals. Meloni called a meeting of senior ministers and intelligence chiefs, underlining how a coordinated hoax can close schools, divert police and unsettle families across several countries even when no device is found.

What to watch

Investigators are working to identify who sent the emails and whether the Italian, Northern Irish and Scottish messages are connected, a link that remains unclear. Officials will also watch for further threats, and for any evidence that changes the current assessment of no concrete danger.

Sources

• bbc.co.uk — confirms the roughly 300 Italian schools, the evacuations, Meloni’s statement and the Northern Ireland and Scotland alerts
• euronews.com — confirms more than 300 evacuations in Italy and ministers describing a strategy to spread fear

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