Hundreds of Italian Schools Cleared After Hoax Bomb Emails; Threats Also Reach Scotland and Ireland

A wave of emails triggers evacuations

Italian authorities cleared more than 300 schools on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after a batch of emailed bomb threats arrived at educational institutions across the country. Officials quickly moved to treat the messages as fabricated, though the disruption left students and families scrambling during the school day.

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara confirmed that 312 schools had been evacuated. He said the scale of the alerts made the chance of a real attack very slim, while acknowledging that authorities could not rule out that someone was orchestrating the messages.

Official assessments

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was no sign of a concrete danger to schools and described the emails as an attempt to create alarm. She announced that investigations were under way and convened a meeting of ministers later the same day. One of the emails also contained a threat aimed at her personally, a point she did not address in her public remarks.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto argued that such messages are easy to send, noting that anyone with basic access to email could contact a school, nursery or airline with a false warning. His remarks framed the episode as an effort to spread fear rather than to carry out an actual plot.

Parents and students react

In Rome, the response unfolded in confusion. At the Mamiani high school, pupils rushed outside believing a recess bell had sounded, and only learned of the threat once they stood in the street. One student described the message she had heard about as violent in tone. Parents arriving to collect their children described distress, with some younger pupils frightened by the sudden evacuation. One school told families through a messaging app that students were being kept in a safe area under staff supervision.

Threats across the UK and Ireland

Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also received threatening emails. Police in Northern Ireland said they were making urgent inquiries, while Police Scotland said it regarded the messages as hoaxes and did not ask schools to evacuate. Irish police confirmed they were aware of a generic communication sent to several educational bodies.

Background

The school emails follow a string of bomb threats last week against dozens of flights across Europe, which forced some diversions. The messages were signed with the same purported Russian-linked name used in threats sent to broadcasters in Ireland and Bulgaria on Friday. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said on Saturday, November 7, 2026, that his personal data had reportedly been leaked to the dark web.

What next

Authorities have not attributed the threats to any group or government, and no evidence has been publicly tied to a state. Investigations are continuing in Italy and the affected UK and Irish jurisdictions, and no suspicious items were found at any of the schools. No injuries were reported.