BREAKING: Hundreds of Hungarian schools received bomb threat in the name of Allah, PM Orbán in hotline – UPDATED

Hundreds of Budapest and country schools received bomb threats in the morning in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shared a Facebook post stating that he was in contact with the Interior Minister via a hotline. He assured the public that Hungarian authorities were prepared to enhance the safety of educational institutions and investigate the motives behind the threats.

Bomb threats in several Budapest schools

According to Telex, the first mayor in Budapest to confirm the bomb threats was Lénárd Borbély, the mayor of the 21st district. He stated that elementary and secondary schools in Budapest had received bomb threats in the morning, prompting authorities to evacuate the schools.

He added that the local government had opened a summer camp for children whose parents could not take them home. He also announced that food would be provided for the children. The first institution to report a bomb threat was the Vermes Miklós Elementary School in Csepel. A Facebook post informed parents that they could pick up their children to take them home.

Rural schools also affected

According to Mandiner, approximately 20 schools in Budapest and across the country were affected. Promenad24 reported that authorities began searching the Németh László Secondary School in Hódmezővásárhely after it received bomb threats. Based on police information, the bomb threat emails originated from a single location, with schools receiving them in the morning. PM Orbán pledged to uncover the origins of the threats.

Telex noted that in some schools, the evacuation was so abrupt that students were forced to leave their phones and schoolbags behind.

Here are some photos from Csepel:

Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of the 9th district, reported that two schools in her area were affected. Norbert Trippon, the mayor of the 4th district, wrote that five schools were targeted, adding that the total number of affected schools in Hungary had reached 50. He urged the public to remain calm and stated that parents had been informed and could collect their children. László Somody, the deputy mayor of the 18th district, confirmed that one institution, the Vajk-sziget Elementary School, had been affected.

In the 2nd district, the Fillér Utca Elementary School received a bomb threat. In Csepel, the mayor decided to evacuate kindergartens and nurseries as a precautionary measure.

Recently, both Slovakia and Serbia faced similar crises involving mass bomb threats targeting schools.

UPDATE: The number of schools affected by bomb threats has risen to 240, with threatening emails claiming to act “in the name of Allah.”

Government spokeswoman Eszter Vitályos announced today that the number of Hungarian schools targeted by bomb threats has increased to 121. The Hungarian police updated their article about the bomb threat and said more than 240 schools were affected.

Gergely Gulyás, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, informed the press that the emails were reportedly sent as an act of revenge “in the name of Allah.” He emphasized that Hungarian authorities are collaborating with their Slovakian counterparts, who dealt with a similar series of mass bomb threats in 2022 and have relevant experience to share.

UPDATE 2: Bence Rétvári talked about 268 threatened schools

Interior Ministry secretary Bence Rétvári updated the number of schools concerned with the bomb threat. He said 268 schools received a threat, 245 in Budapest and 23 outside the capital. He added the direct danger of an exploding bomb is not present in any of those schools. However, he said that authorities had to examine all threats. He said the Hungarian police got in touch with Interpol and their Slovak, Czech and Bulgarian colleagues. He highlighted that all schools concerned would reopen tomorrow in Hungary following their normal schedule.

UPDATE 3: No explosives found

Police spokesman Kristóf Gál said no explosives were found in the schools searched so far. “This supports [the theory] that the email, sent to hundreds of addresses with the same content, probably lacks all foundation,” Gál said.

Government spokeswoman Eszter Vitályos said in a Facebook post today that “it can be clearly seen where Brussels’ flawed migration policy leads to: it puts the whole of Europe at risk.” “This is the same Manfred Weber-led Brussels elite that has promised immunity to [Hungarian Tisza Party leader and MEP] Péter Magyar in exchange for representing Brussels’ policy,” she said. “They’re spreading fake news and lies and putting Europe, including Hungary, at risk.”

Péter Magyar blames secret services and interior minister

The security of children and staff at schools is of paramount importance at all times, Péter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party, said on Thursday, after a number of schools received bomb threats across the country, and condemned “the coordinated act of intimidation”. Magyar said the government should ensure adequate information to parents as to “what is happening to their children, where they are and when the parents can fetch them.”

According to Magyar, the government must inform the public “whether they had previous information on the threats, and if they did, why they didn’t inform the public and take preventive measures.” He laid the blame at the door of the minister responsible for the secret services and the interior minister “if they had no knowledge of such a coordinated attack”.

Magyar also suggested a link between the bomb threats and Hungary’s releasing people smugglers from prison, and said that “public security is jeopardised by the government’s interfering with the Middle East conflict.” He called for Hungarian soldiers to be called home from countries stricken with civil war, and for a review of “the decision of the Orban government to sell the largest developmental area in Budapest to Arab investors way below the market price.”

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