- Bomb threats to Thuringian schools at the start of the school year
In several schools in Thuringia, the new school year began with an exceptional situation: bomb threats disrupted the plans for the first day of school after the summer holidays. Identical emails from the same sender were discovered at several schools in the morning. According to the police, these emails threatened a bomb explosion.
In many cities, students and teachers had to leave the buildings as the police searched the school buildings. According to the state emergency center of the police, sniffer dogs were also used to detect explosives. However, the police did not find anything.
Among the affected schools were those in Friedrichroda, Eisenach, Stadtilm, and Ilmenau. The first day of school also went differently than planned in Schmoelln, Weimar, and Erfurt. Some schools completely canceled classes after the all-clear, while others resumed operations, for example, in Weimar and at one high school in Ilmenau. A spokesperson for the police in Erfurt said that investigations were underway for disturbing the public peace by threatening a crime.
Minister: Threatening schoolchildren is a disgrace
Education Minister Helmut Holter (Left) had strong words: "It is a disgrace that schoolchildren are threatened at the start of the school year. It is ruthless and contemptible." Such threats against school peace must be pursued and punished severely. The actions targeted vulnerable children and their rights. "We must also deter copycats." He thanked the schools for their quick and careful action.
Drohmails are not a new phenomenon
The number of such threats against schools has increased significantly in the past two years, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Between 2014 and 2021, the responsible authorities recorded between 4 and 19 such cases at Thuringian schools each year. In 2022 and 2023, there were 28 and 53 cases, respectively, according to an answer from the Ministry of the Interior to a parliamentary question from the independent member of the state parliament Ute Bergner. In none of these cases did a concrete threat situation arise, it said.
The Ministry of Education attributes the dramatic increase, especially in the past year, to the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Some Thuringian schools and other facilities were also affected by a nationwide series of bomb threats at the time. The perpetrators allegedly posed as opponents or members of Hamas and threatened to kill the innocent. The authorities are investigating a 19-year-old from Baden-Württemberg and a 30-year-old from East Westphalia as suspected perpetrators.
This series prompted the Ministry of Education to review and tighten the procedures for such threats together with schools and security authorities. Therefore, the current threats are estimated to have hit well-prepared schools, according to a ministry spokesperson.
Despite the intensified measures, the 'Start of school' in several Thuringian towns was disrupted yet again by bomb threats. Helmut Holter, the Education Minister, strongly condemned this act, stating that it was a disgrace to threaten schoolchildren.
