Bomb threats at Hungarian schools: police investigating terrorist offence
On Tuesday, several Budapest schools were again hit by bomb threats, a day after 70 institutions were threatened nationwide. Police are investigating the threats as a terrorist offence.
Further bomb scares at Budapest schools, investigation launched
According to hu.euronews.com, on Tuesday bomb threats again targeted Hungarian educational institutions: this time the ELTE Radnóti Miklós Gyakorló Általános Iskola és Gyakorló Gimnázium was the target. The headmaster declared an extraordinary teaching break, and due to the threats the ELTE Trefort Ágoston Gyakorló Gimnáziumát and the Gyertyánffy István Gyakorló Általános Iskola were also searched.
On Monday, more than 70 educational institutions were threatened simultaneously, with claims that explosive devices had been placed in the buildings. The perpetrators, whose identities remain unknown, sent threatening emails to several media content providers. Students were sent home, but no explosive devices or improvised explosive devices were found in any of the buildings during searches.
According to a statement from Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai, the police immediately began investigating the background of the threats. The National Investigation Bureau (NNI) is investigating whether there is a connection between the threats received on 15 October and the current threats. Threatening to commit a terrorist offence constitutes a felony punishable by imprisonment of between two and eight years.
Similar threats also emerged beyond Hungary's borders on Monday: schools in Romania, Serbia and the United Kingdom – Northern Ireland and Scotland – reported that they had received threatening emails. According to information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), approximately 300 schools reported receiving the same message containing a general threat.
In Scotland, a number of institutions were evacuated as a precautionary measure, but authorities found nothing suspicious during checks there either, so the threats are being treated as false alarms. Scotland's police unit dealing with cybercrime and fraud is conducting a wide-ranging investigation to determine the origin of the messages, and for now they suspect that the threatening emails were sent from outside the United Kingdom.
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)