Schools evacuated across Italy after bomb threats

With us, Italy's Giorgia Meloni says there was no indication of concrete danger to schools in today's series of bomb alerts. The threat came in an email. Italy's Prime Minister herself was also targeted. Maloney confirmed an investigation is underway and she convened a special meeting of her ministers. The email purported to come from the leader of an otherwise unknown group with an anti-woman name and contained particularly violent threats. That's it was signed with the same Russian name used in last week's threats against European broadcasters. Emerald Maxwell has more on this. Crowds of pupils wait outside their schools across Italy after hundreds simultaneously received bomb alerts Wednesday. Teachers took the threat seriously and classrooms from Naples to Rome were swiftly evacuated. The principal came and told us that an email had come in, a bomb threat, and right after that the building was evacuated and then the police were called, but they still haven't arrived because there's a long waiting list with all the schools. The particularly violent threats came in an email from an otherwise unknown group with With a misogynistic name. Its purported leader signed with the same Russian name used in threats made last week against European broadcasters. There is definitely concern, especially when it comes to the children, because we're responsible for all of them. So we acted immediately. Absolutely. Police sweeps revealed no suspicious items, but the education minister said investigations were ongoing. Obviously, at this stage, it could be anything. They could be pathological liars or it could be part of a strategy. Certainly, the frequency and the variety of incidents, as we've seen, don't just involve schools but also public transportation and other settings. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of any concrete danger to schools and that the threats appeared aimed at generating alarm and concern. False bomb threats are relatively common, but so many in such a short period are unusual and follow other disruptions across Europe, including attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions, some of which have been blamed on Russia or Iran. Earlier, for more analysis, we were joined by our correspondent in Rome, Hannah Roberts. The government's held crisis talks this evening following the evacuation of 300 schools today. What's come out throughout the day and after this government meeting is that the email was signed by a Russian-sounding name, which has triggered a lot of speculation that this could be linked to Italy's support for Ukraine with arms. The email also suggested that George Maloney's car had been bombed and obviously has created Thank huge unease. My own children were evacuated but parents that I've spoken to were first of all extremely alarmed but clearly you also angry that anyone would make a violent threat against against small children. very Coming on the heels of this, the latest airline threats and before that disruptions to supermarket refrigeration, much. it's all creating a climate of uncertainty. Hannah Roberts there in Rome, over 300 schools across Italy evacuated in this extensive bomb scare. This is the latest in a series that has hit Europe in recent days.