LONDON/ROME — Authorities in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland said a threatening email sent to a large number of schools on Wednesday was a hoax originating from outside the UK.
"Earlier today, around a thousand Scottish schools received a threatening email message. These were also sent to schools across the UK," Mark Sutherland, assistant chief constable of Police Scotland, said in a statement.
Sutherland said the messages were immediately assessed and were treated as "hoaxes."
"Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails," he said.
According to a statement released Wednesday by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), over 300 schools reported receiving the same threat email that the police said was "a hoax."
"Police investigating the circumstances of threatening emails sent to schools across Northern Ireland this morning, are treating the matter as a hoax," the statement said, adding that the email was originated from outside the UK.
"Unless otherwise advised by the PSNI schools should stay open," the Department of Education of Northern Ireland said on social media on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, An Garda Siochana (Irish police) said it was "aware of a generic communication that has been sent to a number of educational establishments" in Ireland.
"An Garda Siochana assess this threat as not credible and is not advising any educational establishment to evacuate," it said.
Italian schools avacuated
Also on Wednesday, Hundreds of schools were evacuated across Italy after being targeted by bomb threats, local media reported.
The threat was triggered by an email sent to school administrations across the country, including Rome, Milan, Florence and other major cities, according to state-run Rai News 24.
At least 300 schools across Italy were affected by the bomb threats, and the number could rise, Italian TV channel La7 reported, citing Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara.
Police and Carabinieri military police were running security checks along with explosive expert teams. No evidence had been found to substantiate the threats so far, but students and teachers were sent home as a precaution.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reportedly called an urgent cabinet meeting at 4 pm local time (1500 GMT) to assess the situation.
The threatening email was sent to at least 12 schools in the province of Rome, including primary schools and nurseries, as well as 12 schools in Milan and the surrounding Lombardy region and another 12 in Naples and the Campania region, La Repubblica reported.
Other targeted schools were in Turin, Sanremo and Vicenza in northern Italy, and in Bari, Cagliari, and Palermo in the south.
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The email threat began as follows: "This is Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat Misoginistan. We have come to annihilate you. We are going to carry out a genocide against Italians," according to La Repubblica, which published a copy provided by staff at one school.
The email also claimed that a "powerful explosive device" had been planted in each targeted school, and a bomb had been "placed in the car of your (Education) Minister."
According to Italian news outlet ANSA, police are investigating the message's origin and credibility. There is little public information about the purported group calling itself "Vilayat Misoginistan."
"I suppose this is a myth maniac, but it is triggering alarm … it has indeed sparked an absurd panic," head of Lazio region's school masters association, Cristina Costarelli, told newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
