Hundreds of Italian schools were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving identical bomb threats warning of an explosive device with a remote detonator. The messages arrived via email at 312 schools simultaneously at 10 a.m. local time, affecting institutions mostly in Rome as well as several other major cities.
Government Response and Security Assessment
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that her cabinet would convene an emergency meeting to address the situation. In a social media statement reported by Deutsche Welle, Meloni stated that law enforcement and government institutions were monitoring developments to reassure citizens, families, and school staff.
“At this time, based on the investigations conducted, there is no evidence to suggest that a concrete danger exists. Rather, the reports appear to be part of a strategy aimed at causing alarm,” Meloni said.
Antonello Giannelli, head of the National Association of School Principals, stated that the incident was “clearly the work of a hoaxer” attempting to generate chaos. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto added that the operation was additionally designed to “sow terror” for thousands of families.
Broader Security Concerns and Hybrid Warfare
The threatening emails delivered to Italian schools carried the same fictitious signature used in similar messages sent to newsrooms in Bulgaria and Ireland on Friday. Approximately 300 schools in Northern Ireland experienced similar disruptions, although authorities have not yet confirmed if the same sender was responsible.
These incidents follow a series of recent hybrid attacks targeting European supermarkets, air traffic controllers, blood banks, and broadcasters, which have heightened official anxiety regarding coordinated hybrid warfare. France recently summoned the Iranian ambassador over cyberattacks that disrupted supermarket freezers, though Tehran rejected any responsibility.
Defense Minister Crosetto advised against premature assumptions regarding the source of the threats. “It is not always the work of foreign countries or hostile entities. There are also attention-seekers and lunatics who” simply want to unleash mayhem, he explained.
