The messages received by the schools contained threatening and right-wing extremist statements, according to the police in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
What do we know about the threats?
Police reported that a comprehensive school in Germany received a threatening letter from an unknown individual on Friday, indicating that criminal actions would occur on Monday.
Additionally, on Sunday, the same school received another letter threatening 13 other schools in the city.
Disguise’s State Security Service experts do not believe in the “seriousness of the announced offenses,” however.
Despite this, the state government officials suspended in-person classes at all secondary and comprehensive schools and one grammar school in Duisburg. Some of these schools would offer online classes, officials announced.
Approximately 17,980 children at 15 comprehensive schools and two secondary schools were affected by the closures.
Other schools remained open, with some allowing parents to decide whether or not to send their children to classes.
The Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported that decision-makers had classified the threat level as “Threat Level 2,” which includes the possibility of violent attacks on multiple students or death threats, in their action plan.
To further minimize any residual risk, the police announced their presence at the affected schools. They stated that investigations into the author’s identity and the background of the threats were ongoing.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
