Approximately 6,300 schools across Italy were targeted by a massive wave of hoax bomb threats on Wednesday leading to widespread evacuations and the disruption of classes nationwide.
While the alerts triggered emergency procedures in hundreds of locations, authorities have confirmed that the threats were unfounded and part of a coordinated campaign to incite panic.
Coordinated Threats Across Europe
The electronic bomb alerts, which were sent to a significant portion of Italy’s 7,476 public schools, contained identical language claiming that high-powered explosives had been placed inside school buildings. While private schools and adult education centers were spared from the emails, the scale of the incident prompted an immediate government response.
Similar emails were received by schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland on the same day. Specifically, approximately 1,000 schools in Scotland and over 300 schools in Northern Ireland reported receiving the threatening messages. However, police in those regions assessed the messages as non-credible hoaxes.
Official Response to Public Alarm
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that while the government was monitoring the situation, there was no evidence of a concrete danger.
“The ongoing investigation has not yet found any evidence indicating a concrete danger. Instead, they appear to be part of a strategy aimed at causing panic and alarm,” Meloni said in a statement shared on social media. She emphasized that all necessary investigations were underway to identify the source of the campaign.
Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara confirmed that 312 schools had completed formal evacuations by the end of the day, though he warned that the number of affected institutions could rise. The rapid response left many parents and students distressed as they dealt with the sudden closures. In Rome, students at the Mamiani High School reportedly mistook the alarms for a break, only realizing the situation upon exiting the building.
Investigating the Source
The threat emails were signed by a sender identifying as “Mikhail Andropov,” who claimed to lead an organization called the “Vilayat of Misoginistan.” This same name appeared on earlier bomb threats sent to news organizations in Ireland and Bulgaria, according to reports from local media. Security experts said that because school email addresses are publicly available, sending mass-distributed threats is a relatively simple task.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto addressed the nature of the campaign, noting that the objective was to destabilize public confidence. “This is not always the work of foreign or hostile powers. There are also some grandstanders and madmen who, at times like this, are eager to create terror attacks in a certain city or region,” Crosetto told the press.
While some European officials have speculated about the involvement of foreign actors—pointing to recent cyberattacks on supermarket chains, blood banks, and aviation infrastructure—Italian authorities have said that no definitive evidence links the school hoaxes to any specific government.
Under new guidelines discussed at a government meeting, provincial authorities retain the power to order evacuations if they determine a genuine risk exists.