The teen sent threatening emails to three schools — one in Linz, one in Traun, and one in St. Veit an der Glan in Carinthia — warning of explosive devices on the premises. The threats triggered evacuations and emergency responses on Thursday. Police searched the buildings but found no dangerous objects.
One of the messages was sent to a secondary school in Linz’s Neue Heimat district. The principal contacted police early that morning, prompting a two-hour search of the school. Similar operations were carried out at the other locations with no results.
‘School stress’ cited as motive
Despite attempts to conceal his identity, the teenager was identified by Linz criminal investigators working with cybercrime experts. According to ORF, officers initially found only his sister at the family home during a search. The boy later returned to the apartment with his legal guardians and confessed.
He initially denied responsibility, police said, but later admitted to sending the threats.
According to authorities, the teenager cited stress at school as the reason behind his actions. He now faces three criminal charges for making dangerous threats.
Part of a wider pattern — but not the same case
Last year, authorities looked into a major bomb threat incident in St. Pölten, where 16 schools were forced to close after receiving threatening emails. That episode affected around 5,000 pupils and led to a large-scale security response involving building searches and emergency childcare arrangements.
Those threats also included messages containing Arabic script and phrases such as “You infidels will die.” However, police have so far been unable to link the 15-year-old from Linz to the St. Pölten incident.
Authorities suspect that multiple individuals may be responsible for recent threats, and have warned that some may be acting opportunistically or mimicking earlier incidents.
Ongoing investigations across Austria
Austria has seen a noticeable uptick in bomb threats since last year, including disruptions to train stations and shopping centres. In October, a 20-year-old Swiss national was identified in connection with 27 bomb threats targeting public infrastructure. He was later arrested but released pending further proceedings in Switzerland.
While that suspect is considered a key figure in the broader investigation, Austrian police believe the Linz school threats are separate and were carried out independently by the teenager now in custody.
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