Italy Evacuates More Than 300 Schools After Mass Bomb Threat Emails as Officials Dismiss Immediate Danger

More than 300 schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday, November 11, after receiving nearly identical bomb threats by email, sending students and teachers into the streets while police checked buildings across the country. ⠀ Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told the La7 television network that roughly 300 schools had received the messages and warned that the number could rise. In Rome, one school told parents that students had been moved to a safe area under staff supervision. ⠀ The emails also included a threat against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to copies obtained by Italian media. Meloni said authorities had found no indication of a concrete danger to schools and believed the messages were meant to spread alarm. She convened a meeting of ministers as investigations continued. ⠀ Valditara said the threats appeared to be a hoax rather than credible warnings of explosives. “There is no need for alarm,” he said, adding that intelligence agencies and police were working to establish who was responsible. ⠀ Similar messages reached schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, where authorities assessed them as not credible and advised schools to remain open. The incident follows a series of disruptive threats targeting transport, broadcasters and other institutions across Europe. ⠀ Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the apparent aim was to spread fear, but cautioned against assuming a foreign government was behind the messages.