Thousands of schools evacuated across Italy after bomb threats

Thousands of schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving bomb threats, triggering widespread disruption and panic among students, parents and teachers.

Around 6,300 schools reportedly received threatening emails, forcing authorities to take immediate precautionary measures. Parents rushed to schools to collect their children as educational activities were disrupted across the country.

The threats were also reported in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. However, authorities in those regions classified the messages as hoaxes, allowing schools to continue their normal activities without major disruption.

In Italy, the warnings prompted a swift response from school administrations. Students were moved to safe locations and kept under the supervision of teaching staff while authorities monitored the situation.

Several parents expressed concern over the impact of the incident on children. Nensi Bego, whose daughter attends Mazzini Middle School in Rome, said the child became frightened after receiving the news because students did not understand what was happening.

She said her daughter was still distressed when she arrived to collect her. Bego also criticised the threats for disrupting lessons and creating unnecessary anxiety among families.

A copy of the threatening email reviewed by Reuters also contained a threat against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. However, Meloni said the alerts posed no danger and confirmed that police and other public authorities were monitoring the situation.

One school in Rome informed parents through a messaging application that all students had been moved to a safe area and were being supervised by teachers.

The email received by Italian schools was reportedly signed by an individual identifying himself as Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan. The same purported sender had also claimed responsibility for bomb threats sent to newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria on Friday.

A national security source said the email addresses of schools were publicly available, making it relatively easy for the sender to distribute the threatening messages.

The incident comes amid a wider series of threats and cyberattacks targeting public services and businesses across Europe. Recent incidents have affected supermarkets, blood banks, air traffic services and broadcasting organisations.

Some European officials suspect Russia may be involved in a campaign aimed at disrupting everyday life in countries supporting Ukraine following Moscow’s invasion. Russia has rejected the allegations and accused Western governments of conducting a smear campaign.

Iran has also come under suspicion following recent cyber incidents. France summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday after accusing Tehran of carrying out a cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets.

Iran rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless and hostile.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Wednesday’s bomb warnings appeared to be part of a strategy designed to spread fear and anxiety among the public.

However, he cautioned against automatically blaming foreign governments or hostile organisations, saying individuals seeking attention could also be responsible for such incidents.

Antonello Giannelli, head of the Italian School Principals Association, said the threats had caused considerable distress among students, parents and school employees.

He warned that even when such threats were identified as hoaxes, their consequences could not be ignored because they created panic across school communities and interrupted educational activities.

Authorities continued monitoring the situation as concerns grew over the increasing use of threatening messages and cyberattacks to disrupt public life across Europe.