Electronic traces

Bomb threat at school: pupil sent email

Bomb threats at schools occur again and again. (archive picture)(Bild: P. Huber)

The 15-year-old pupil was only able to enjoy his "prank" for just over a day. After the bomb threat at a school in Völkermarkt, investigators quickly tracked him down.

Anonymity on the Internet can be deceptive. So a 15-year-old pupil probably felt very safe when he sent an anonymized email to the Völkermarkt police station at around 10.38 a.m. on Tuesday. "This email threatened that two bombs had been placed in the secondary school and that they would explode in two hours," explained the police. 

Police officers from Völkermarkt police station, the riot unit and an "explosives expert" searched the school but did not find anything. When the bomb deadline expired without incident, the pupils and teachers were able to return - school operations were not particularly affected.

The State Office for State Protection and Counter-Extremism (LSE) was also called in for the investigation - these professionals have completely different tools and means to track down digital traces. "Officers from Völkermarkt police station, in cooperation with the Carinthian LSE, were able to track down a 15-year-old schoolboy from the Völkermarkt district thanks to excellent investigative work," the police reported.

The boy did not deny the crime after it could be clearly proven. "A report will be submitted to the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt and the district authority in Völkermarkt," said the police. In similar cases in the past, the parents or guardians have been fined, sometimes heavily.