A new wave of bomb threats has targeted 27 schools in Hungary’s Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, with a further threat reported at a school in Budapest. Police are inspecting the affected buildings, and no explosives have been found at sites searched so far, authorities said.
Another 27 bomb threats two days after the previous messages
Hungary’s National Bureau of Investigation (Nemzeti Nyomozóiroda, NNI) is examining whether the latest threats are connected to previous incidents involving educational institutions. Dávid Janiczak, the mayor of Ózd, confirmed on social media that 27 schools in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County had been named in the latest threat and published a copy of the message.
The bomb threats were reported on Wednesday, 21 October. According to the authorities, a threatening email listing several schools in Northern Hungary was sent to the functional email address of a news website. A Budapest school received a separate message directly in its own inbox.
What does the message say?
The perpetrators in the email first mention the settlements, then list the institutions involved, while claiming they “have come for the young”. In the paragraph second to last, they claim the primary attack means detonating the explosive devices placed in the listed schools, and “if it does not seem effective enough”, their armed members “will continue to hold the targets accountable at the scene”. In the closing, they warn everybody to “prepare for death”, and they signed it as “your honorable fellow compatriots”.
Police inspect affected schools
Police are visiting the institutions concerned and coordinating their response with school management, following the procedures established during earlier incidents. In a statement, the National Bureau of Investigation said officers had found no explosives or devices suitable for detonation in buildings already searched. Inspections were continuing at the remaining locations.
The Pestújhelyi Primary School in Budapest’s 15th district was also targeted. District mayor Angéla Cserdiné Németh said the school had received another threatening message that morning and that police had begun inspecting the affected buildings. She added that children had been moved to safety at the Pestújhely Community Centre.
The school had also received a bomb threat the previous week. The National Bureau of Investigation has opened proceedings over threats to commit a terrorist act. Investigators are examining possible links between the latest messages and threats reported on 15 October and in other recent cases.
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Series of threats raises concern
The latest incidents follow a series of bomb threats affecting schools across Hungary. On Monday, 19 October, more than 70 educational institutions reportedly received messages threatening that explosive devices had been planted on their premises. Police searched the affected buildings but found no explosives.
Further threats were reported on Tuesday, including at several practice schools and kindergartens associated with Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), as well as the Miklós Radnóti Practice School in Budapest’s Zugló district, where an extraordinary school closure was ordered.
Threats were also reported in Serbia on Monday, affecting schools in several cities, including Subotica, Novi Sad and Belgrade. Authorities have not established whether the incidents in Hungary and Serbia are connected. Hungarian investigators continue to examine the messages and their possible links to earlier threats as police work to ensure the safety of pupils and staff.
Stay up-to-date: More than 70 Hungarian schools targeted by bomb threats on Monday morning