More than three hundred Northern Irish schools receive bomb email
Police say threat is not credible; schools in Scotland and Ireland also received reports.
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More than three hundred schools in Northern Ireland received the same threatening email on Wednesday. Police are investigating, but say nothing suspicious has been found so far and that the risk to the public is considered low.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the emails arrived at schools in Northern Ireland on Wednesday morning. According to police, more than three hundred schools have by now reported receiving the same message. The email is believed to have originated from outside the United Kingdom.
The PSNI is treating the report as a hoax. According to police, searches at the locations concerned found nothing indicating a real threat. Police have asked schools and parents to remain vigilant and report suspicious situations directly to the police.
Police said similar messages had also been received by some schools in Scotland. British media additionally reported that schools in the Republic of Ireland had received a similar email. The Irish police are investigating the reports separately and had earlier warned of an increase in non-credible bomb threats.
It is not yet known who sent the messages or what the motive was. The Northern Irish police have not said that the reports are part of a coordinated action. As long as the investigation continues, the origin of the emails remains an unanswered question.
The reports are mainly causing concern and disruption in education. At the same time, the Northern Irish authorities emphasise that, based on the information currently available, schools can continue to operate as normally as possible. The response may vary from school to school, depending on the local assessment and consultation with police.
The incident fits into a broader series of false threats against European institutions, but no link between those incidents has been established. There are no indications of a direct threat to Dutch schools; the available information concerns schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key facts are based on the Northern Irish police and an independent international news source. The reports from Ireland and Scotland are attributed separately; no connection or motive is presented as fact.
- confirmed More than three hundred schools in Northern Ireland reported the same threatening email. — This is stated in the PSNI report of 11 November 2026. source
- confirmed The PSNI is treating the threat as a hoax and assesses the risk to the public as low. — Police call the email a hoax and say the risk was considered low at the time. source
- confirmed The email is believed to have originated from outside the United Kingdom. — The PSNI states that the email originated outside the UK. source
- confirmed Schools in Scotland and Ireland also received similar reports. — The PSNI mentions Scotland; The Irish Times reports messages being received by schools in Ireland. source
- confirmed There is no confirmed link between these reports and earlier threats in Europe. — The sources consulted report no established link; the text presents this as uncertain. source
Editor's note
It is certain that more than three hundred schools in Northern Ireland reported the same email and that the PSNI regards the threat as a hoax. Reports in Scotland and Ireland were reported separately; nothing has been confirmed about the sender, the motive or a possible connection.Sources
- Threatening emails to over 300 schools being treated as a hoax — Police Service of Northern Ireland
- Bomb alerts sent to schools in Italy and Northern Ireland in latest threats — Reuters
- Gardaí investigating series of bomb threats to schools — The Irish Times