Over 200 threatening letters sent to Lithuanian schools: examinations continue
On Monday, as the school-leaving examination session began, Lithuanian schools received over 200 threatening letters. Police urge classes and examinations to continue.
Mass threatening message campaign coincided with Lithuanian language examination
On Monday, Lithuanian schools received hundreds of threatening letters – as reported by 15min.lt, the number grew rapidly from morning: initially around 40 reports were registered, later 120, and by midday more than 200 had been recorded. The threats reached schools on the very day when more than 27,000 secondary school students began the state school-leaving examination session with the Lithuanian language and literature examination.
Police emphasise that there is currently no information suggesting any real danger, and no suspicious objects have been found in schools. Officers recommend that school administrations inspect their premises and pay attention to suspicious circumstances. If suspicious objects are discovered, residents and employees are urged to call the emergency number 112 immediately.
Kaunas school begins evacuation but does not complete it
Several schools in Kaunas responded to the threatening letters by beginning evacuations. Palmira Talijūnienė, headteacher of Kaunas St. Casimir School, told 15min how the situation unfolded: "We had left, until we received further instructions. You know, we did not even manage to complete the evacuation. We immediately informed the police and the municipality, and then, while informing pupils and teachers to leave, we received a message from police to continue the educational process and take no action."
According to the headteacher, part of the school community had already left the building, but not everyone. Classes are currently being held as usual – not examination sessions. "We experienced no particular disruptions", Talijūnienė assured. She also recalled that the last time a similar threat was made to the school was in 2023.
Ona Gucevičienė, head of the Education Department of Kaunas municipality, told 15min that the educational process in the city is proceeding normally and the examination session has not been disrupted. "We currently have no information that educational institutions in Kaunas have conducted evacuations", she said, although evacuations from individual schools had already been reported. The municipality urges people not to give in to panic and assures that every report is evaluated responsibly.
Vilnius deputy mayor suspects systematic disinformation
Vytautas Mitalas, deputy mayor of Vilnius, stated that the municipality, upon receiving information about the threats, sent recommendations to schools to assess the situation and conduct inspections of premises and territory before making any decisions. "I know from public sources and from school reports that we receive such threats in Vilnius as well, and they are increasing. It is possible that such messages are being sent in waves and will reach all schools sooner or later", said Mitalas.
The deputy mayor drew attention to the timing: the threats were sent precisely at the beginning of the school-leaving examinations. In his view, such mass messages resemble "systematic disinformation messages that are being sent recklessly to a large number of educational institutions". "Those who want to disrupt Lithuania's consistent work certainly know when examinations are taking place. I believe this could be connected", said Mitalas.
He also noted that conversations about similar scenarios had taken place with the leadership of the National Education Agency (NŠA) following the first announcement last week of air danger linked to military drones that had entered Lithuanian airspace. "The NŠA director assured me that they have algorithms in place. But one thing is to have algorithms, another is to have additional tasks to organise a recheck if it has been interrupted", the deputy mayor hoped.
NŠA: pupils are safe, session continues
The National Education Agency announced that Lithuanian police are checking and analysing the information available, but no real threat has been identified so far. "We thank Lithuanian police for their swift response. The National Education Agency, together with the country's schools and relevant institutions, is prepared for various scenarios during the session in order to ensure its smooth running and the safety of participants", the agency stated in a release.
The NŠA swiftly informed schools and, following recommendations from the Police Department, urged them to continue the examination session according to the planned schedule. Pupils, according to the agency, are safe and are continuing the examination as usual.
Residents with questions or who have noticed suspicious circumstances can contact police on the information line +370 700 60 000.
Source: Google News LT — Crime (lt)