A number of schools in Northern Ireland were evacuated after receiving a threatening email, with parents told to collect their children immediately. The disruption affected educational centres across the region, and police are investigating the origin and scale of the messages.
Reports suggest the threat email may have been sent to as many as 160 schools, although the precise number of institutions affected has not been confirmed. Parents were urged to come to school premises to pick up their children as staff responded to the alerts.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is examining the messages. At least one police assessment has described the threats as non-viable, meaning they were not assessed as credible explosive devices, but the security response was still activated as a precaution.
The evacuations caused significant disruption to the school day, with families asked to rearrange collection arrangements at short notice. The incident also placed pressure on local roads and school transport as parents arrived to collect pupils.
Schools in Northern Ireland have previously been targeted by hoax threats, and authorities treat such messages seriously until they can be assessed. The investigation is expected to focus on the source of the email and whether it was sent as a coordinated hoax.
There has been no confirmation of any injuries or of any device being found. Police have not publicly identified a suspect or a motive, and the inquiry remains at an early stage.
The affected schools are understood to have followed established evacuation procedures, moving pupils to safety while the alerts were assessed. Parents were advised to follow instructions from individual schools rather than arriving without guidance.
The incident comes amid heightened awareness of security threats to public institutions across the UK. Schools are required to maintain emergency plans for a range of scenarios, including bomb threats and suspicious communications.
Police have asked anyone with information about the emails to contact officers. The investigation is continuing, and further updates are expected as enquiries progress.