About 70 children were evacuated from a school in Linz-Urfahr on Thursday morning after an anonymous caller threatened to bomb them. Teachers, police and emergency services responded quickly, but parents were left with an uneasy feeling. Police are now looking for the threatening caller who spoke in the Upper Austrian dialect.
This is certainly not how the children and their parents had imagined the fourth day of this school year: On Thursday shortly after 7:00 a.m., the police emergency call received a bomb threat to the school complex on Teistlergutstrasse in Linz-Urfahr – from a previously unknown person. The building – which houses a special school, the Karlhofschule and an after-school care center – was immediately evacuated and a large area was cordoned off.
There were already 60 to 70 schoolchildren on site at that time; a bus from Linz AG took them to the nearby ASKÖ movement centre, which quickly served as alternative accommodation.
Meanwhile, special forces and explosive sniffer dogs searched the school building until, around 10 a.m., police finally gave the go-ahead: no bomb was found.
“There was no panic”
There was no real panic during the local inspection “Krone” around the school, but – fortunately – there was no real panic before that either. Police, emergency services and teachers responded quickly and professionally. “Of course I was tense and expected to find my child scared,” says Nicole, who picked up her daughter Svenja (10) after the evacuation. “But you didn’t notice any panic, a big compliment to the director and the supervisors.”
A father, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We were just about to go to school, but it had already been closed. Of course it was a bad feeling.” Another mother said: “It’s good that the children were brought to dry land quickly.”
Caller threatened in dialect
Unfortunately, threats against schools occur time and again. In March, a shooting threat shook the high school in Garsten, and in May, the academic high school in Linz was evacuated after someone received a threat via email.
Now the police are looking for the last threatening caller. The only thing known about him so far is that he is a man and speaks the Upper Austrian dialect. If he is investigated, he will not only be reported, but also charged for the operation.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
