Safety is key

Amok threat: pupils have to learn at home

"The school management informed us of the posting at the weekend. We then immediately took security measures and informed the police, who took the threat very seriously and investigated it," says Alfred Lehner, Director of Education in Burgenland.(Bild: Judt Reinhard)

Around 1500 pupils in Oberwart (Burgenland) are forced to homeschool for three days. The background to this is an announced rampage. The police are investigating.

The scene in Oberwart: On Tuesday evening, the four murdered Roma Josef Simon, Peter Sarközi and Erwin and Karl Horvath, who died in a letter bomb attack on the night of February 5, 1995, are commemorated at the memorial. 30 years have passed since then, when the town in southern Burgenland was in the headlines for weeks because of Franz Fuchs.

Now something has happened again, namely a first, at least in Burgenland. At the weekend, an internet user posted a post on Instagram announcing a rampage for February 5 at HBLA Oberwart, which should definitely be taken seriously. The Burgenland State Office of Criminal Investigation and the State Office for State Protection and Counter Extremism (LSE) have begun an investigation. It is not yet clear who is behind the threatening posting. The police said on Monday that the investigation is being conducted "in all directions". The police presence will be increased, both in the vicinity of the schools and on Tuesday evening at the memorial event to mark the Roma assassination.

Homeschooling!(Bild: Weber Franz)

For the approximately 1500 pupils at the three schools, homeschooling will be the order of the day for the next three days. The Education Directorate justifies this with a precautionary safety measure. In a letter to parents, it states: "Due to a safety-related tip that became known through a social media post and relates to the coming days, the Directorate of Education has decided to order ICT-led lessons from February 4 to 6." All schools have a specially established crisis team for emergencies and are working closely with the police. The education authorities also have crisis plans or emergency folders, explains Director of Education Alfred Lehner.

Here, too, the doors remain closed for safety reasons.(Bild: Weber Franz)

The posting spread like wildfire among the young people at the weekend. The incident in Oberwart was one of a series of threats sent by the Austrian police in recent weeks. Several train stations in the provincial capitals, schools, a shopping center in Salzburg and the Vienna Criminal Court were targeted. Nothing was ever found. The only difference: in Oberwart, the threat was not received by email, but was spread on social media.