In four federal states

Bomb threat in Vienna: school remains closed

For security reasons, some schools in Austria will remain closed on Monday (symbolic image).(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH, Krone KREATIV)

AHS Wien West in Penzing will remain closed on Monday due to a bomb threat received by email at the weekend. The police have already searched the building with dogs. So far, no suspicious objects have been found. Linz, Graz, Innsbruck and Salzburg also received bomb threats on Monday.

As a father reported to the "Krone" newspaper, the message from the school reached the parents via e-mail at 5.00 a.m. on Monday morning. The bomb threat was issued for Monday, so for security reasons the school in Vienna-Penzing will not be holding classes. 

School to be checked again on Monday
Although the emergency services were unable to discover any suspicious objects during the night on Monday, another check will be made to see if anything suspicious can be observed during the day to be on the safe side.

"We assume that this is a fake email, we think that school can resume as normal on Tuesday. We will inform you about this on Monday afternoon," reads the notification from the director of AHS Vienna West to parents. 

Another three federal states affected
A total of five schools in Graz also received bomb threats on Monday. "The email was sent to the school and its content is similar to previous bomb threats," said the police in Graz. They are not assuming an acute danger, but explosives experts are on site and are searching the buildings. A girls' school in Linz, two schools in Salzburg and even more than 30 schools in Innsbruck are also affected: the building complexes are being investigated. 

The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) provided information on labor law provisions for parents with children at the affected schools. "If a school is closed outside of school hours, parents have the fundamental right to leave their workplace to pick up their child and look after them afterwards," it was emphasized. This is a reason for not being able to work, but only applies if there is no other option for care and the care is actually necessary.

Police consider connection with Swiss possible
The incidents are part of a series of bomb threats against train stations and schools throughout Austria in recent months. In mid-October, a 20-year-old suspect in Switzerland was finally identified and proceedings were initiated against him.

Since then, the authorities in Austria and Switzerland have been investigating the case. However, the series of bomb threats has not stopped. On Monday, the investigators seem to think that there could be a connection with the 20-year-old Swiss man.