Hundreds of Schools Receive Apparent Hoax Bomb Threats in UK, Hungary and Serbia

Hundreds of schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Serbia received bomb threats on Monday, prompting evacuations and some closures as authorities said the warnings appeared to be hoaxes, AFP reported.

It was not yet known whether the incidents were connected.

Up to 300 schools targeted in Northern Ireland

Police in Northern Ireland said up to 300 schools received the same email containing a generalised threat. The message also reached some schools elsewhere in the UK.

Police said they were treating the threats as a hoax and investigating the circumstances.

Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan said the emails appeared to come from Islamists, threatened the introduction of Sharia law and claimed explosive devices had been placed in schools. He said the message was signed “Allahu Akbar”.

Givan condemned the disruption and said some schools had closed. The Northern Ireland education authority said the majority remained open.

Police Scotland also confirmed that threatening messages had been sent to a number of schools. Officers were investigating and treating the warnings as a hoax.

Evacuations in Hungary as Serbia reports further threats

In Hungary, emails sent to local media claimed bombs had been placed in more than 70 schools, according to police.

Many schools were evacuated, but officials said no bombs were found. Interior Minister Gabor Posfai said investigations conducted so far had shown the threats to be unfounded.

In neighbouring Serbia, state broadcaster RTS reported that more than 100 schools had received bomb threats.

The nature of the messages sent outside Northern Ireland remained unclear.