E-mails with identical wording

Several bomb threats: Schools targeted again

For security reasons, some schools in Austria will remain closed on Tuesday (symbolic image).

(Bild: APA/dpa/Marijan Murat)

Some schools in St. Pölten (Lower Austria) will initially remain closed on Tuesday due to further bomb threats received by email. In the course of the morning, more and more provinces throughout Austria were apparently affected. The bomb threats reached the schools - not surprisingly - by email. 

After threatening emails were received at several schools in the provincial capital of St. Pölten in Lower Austria on Tuesday night, lessons were canceled in many institutions on Tuesday morning. The school administrations received identical "abstract threats" during the night.

Chaos at schools in Lower Austria
Chaos was the result, as it was initially unclear exactly which schools were affected. While some informed parents quickly, for many it overlapped with the journey to school. Many children stayed at home as a precaution.

Distance learning ordered
Distance learning was ordered, police spokesman Raimund Schwaigerlehner said on request. The St. Pölten Criminal Investigation Department, the Lower Austrian State Office of Criminal Investigation and the State Office for State Security and Counter-Extremism (LSE) have started investigations.

According to Schwaigerlehner, the emails were sent directly to the schools. The objects were to be investigated during the course of the day. For pupils who were unable to stay at home or were already on their way to class, "secure supervision was organized", according to the authorities' spokesperson. The decision to use distance learning was made in consultation between the education directorate and the police.

Four federal states already affected
Three schools in Graz also had to be closed once again due to threatening emails - Upper Austria has also been affected by school closures. The police in Carinthia are expecting a wave of threatening emails. Schools as well as education directorates and the magistrate received threatening emails in the morning.

The authorities now have a routine in such cases: The scheme is reminiscent of the now numerous cases in the recent past. According to the provincial police directorates, some of the buildings were evacuated and searched.