About 6,300 schools in Italy received bomb threats on Wednesday (11), prompting the evacuation of hundreds of institutions and mobilizing security forces across the country. According to the Italian government, initial checks found no evidence of a concrete danger.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said that at least 300 schools had been evacuated. The total number of institutions that suspended classes has not yet been confirmed, as some schools continued operating after consulting police.
The threats were sent by email to schools in all 20 Italian regions. In different cities, students and teachers left the buildings while police officers carried out inspections.
Messages also threatened Giorgia Meloni
The anonymous email said explosives had been placed in the schools and threatened Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The message was signed by a person who identified themselves as the leader of an organization called “Vilayat de Misoginistão.” The sender’s identity and the actual existence of the alleged group have not been confirmed.
According to ANSA, investigators identified the use of a compromised email account associated with Taiwan. However, the information does not make it possible to establish the location or nationality of those responsible.
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Meloni convenes security authorities
Given the scale of the incident, Giorgia Meloni called a meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian government, with ministers, intelligence service representatives and members of the National Cybersecurity Agency.
The prime minister said authorities are monitoring the situation and that the checks carried out have not identified any elements indicating a concrete danger.
Minister Valditara considered the threats sent simultaneously to thousands of schools to be not very credible.
Despite that assessment, security forces continued inspection procedures at the affected institutions.
Similar threats hit other countries
Schools in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland also received similar messages.
In those countries, authorities classified the threats as false and instructed institutions to continue operating.
The episode comes amid a series of threats and cyberattacks reported in Europe, involving supermarkets, air transportation services and other sectors.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the messages appear intended to provoke fear and insecurity. However, he stressed that it is not possible to automatically attribute these incidents to foreign governments.
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Italian authorities continue to investigate who sent the emails and any possible connections to other incidents.
So far, there has been no confirmation of the involvement of foreign governments or organizations in the threats directed at Italian schools.
