Hundreds of schools across Scotland and Northern Ireland received a threatening email with the subject line "DEATH IS NEAR," prompting urgent police investigations and the evacuation of pupils from several schools.
Schools in Edinburgh began evacuating children from around 10am, while approximately 300 schools in Northern Ireland also reportedly received the suspected email threat. The incident comes just weeks after a similar hoax threat sparked comparable scenes at schools across the UK.
Email Claims and Immediate Response
According to the Irish Mirror, the email was purportedly from the leader of the "Red Owl" project and claimed that a "powerful explosive device" had been left within the building. The message continued by stating they are "going to carry out genocide against your people" and included a threat to target the Prime Minister's car.
According to the Scottish Sun, pupils in Kinross were reportedly seen wrapped in foil blankets following their evacuation. Invergordon Academy sent a text message to parents stating it "will be closing for the remainder of the day."
The message continued: "Pupils will be sent home with immediate effect. Those pupils that are unable to get home will be kept in the leisure centre until we can organise transport."
Police Assessment and Investigation
According to Edinburgh News, Police Scotland stated the messages were "immediately assessed and are being treated as hoaxes." A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Our enquiries have established that there is nothing to suggest that they represent a credible threat or that there is any wider threat to the public.
"We understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause."
"Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails. They have been sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland and our assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat."
Police Scotland's Cyber and Fraud Unit is carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source of the messages, and officers continue to liaise with law enforcement partners across the UK and internationally.
Northern Ireland Response and Context
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed it is urgently investigating after a threatening email was distributed to schools in the region. A statement said: "Police received reports today, Wednesday 11th November, of a concerning email sent to a number of schools across Northern Ireland.
"As a result of this email, police are conducting urgent inquiries and liaising with the schools in question. An update will be provided in due course."
The Education Authority (EA) noted that the email bears similarities to a hoax threat circulated to schools across the region the previous month. The statement said: "We are aware that another threatening email message has today been sent to a large number of schools in NI. The message has similarities with a bogus threat sent last month, which was declared a hoax by PSNI.
"EA is liaising with police on this latest message. At this stage, we have not been made aware of any evidence of any credible threat to schools."
The previous month, a number of schools across Northern Ireland and Scotland shut their doors following a hoax bomb threat. Stormont's education minister Paul Givan said on that occasion the threat was "Islamist" and had been signed off "Allahu Akbar."
In a social media post, Alliance Party MLA Paula Bradshaw said: "I strongly condemn the reckless bomb threats sent to schools this morning. Such actions are unacceptable, causing fear and distress among pupils, parents and staff. Please remain calm and follow official guidance. My thoughts are with everyone affected."
