Schools throughout Czechia continue to receive bomb threats today

The start of the Czech school year is usually marked by ceremonies, flowers for teachers, and a festive atmosphere. This year, however, hundreds of schools across the country have been dealing with bomb threats, disrupting the first week of classes.

The threats continued into Thursday, prompting Interior Minister Vít Rakušan to call the situation “unprecedented” and a “targeted attack.”

Rakušan stressed the importance of minimizing disruptions while ensuring the safety of students. A committee has been established to monitor the situation closely.

Czech police have reported that over 490 schools received another round of threatening emails on Thursday morning, though they assess the threat level as low. Authorities will continue efforts to minimize class disruptions, as they have in previous days.

On Tuesday, hundreds of schools across the country were targeted by similar threats, with some receiving emails on Wednesday warning of potential explosions.

“The nature of today’s threat is very similar to previous ones,” police said, noting that while the emails came from different addresses, there is evidence linking the accounts.

Nearly 100 schools in the Central Bohemia region received bomb threats on Thursday, police spokeswoman Barbora Schneeweissová said.

In Příbram, south of Prague, all primary schools have been evacuated as police inspect the buildings, according to city spokeswoman Eva Švehlová. In Mělník, north of Prague, the threat was directed at Jindřich Matiegka Primary School.

The minister added that police are pursuing multiple investigative leads and are in contact with Slovak authorities, who have faced a similar situation.

A working group has been set up in response to the ongoing threats, bringing together officials from the police, the ministries of education and interior, and the human rights commissioner to address the situation affecting schools and students.

Rakušan said the threats are intended to create fear and anxiety within society. “We have seen this modus operandi in other parts of Europe in the past,” he said, adding that police and authorities are responding to the situation with maximum effort.

“Our primary concern is to protect students and teachers. The secondary concern is identifying the source of these threats,” Rakušan said. He emphasized that the priority was to minimize classroom disruption while ensuring children’s safety.

Education Minister Mikuláš Bek thanked the police and the Interior Ministry for their efforts and welcomed the creation of the working group.

Rakušan and Bek also issued a letter to all primary and secondary school principals across Czechia, providing information on the threats. They assured school leaders that the police were working diligently on the case and asked for their cooperation and understanding.

The letter noted that the two ministries, the human rights commissioner and the police, had established a working group to continuously monitor developments and provide regular updates.