Schools across Croatia evacuated again as bomb threat hoaxes continue

Illustration (Photo: Fraxinus/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fresh evacuations took place in several schools across Zagreb, Split and Rijeka on Monday morning following new reports of potential explosive devices.

Police confirmed that alerts had been received and that officers were deployed on-site, carrying out inspections in line with established safety protocols.

The incidents come amid a wider wave of hoax bomb threats that has affected Croatia over the past week, disrupting schools and other public institutions nationwide.

Teaching has been repeatedly interrupted as precautionary evacuations were carried out.

Authorities reported that threats were not limited to schools, with kindergartens, shopping centres and various state institutions also targeted.

More than 500 threat messages were recorded last week alone, sent to educational facilities, local government units, the national government, parliament, police and selected media outlets.

Police investigations conducted last week confirmed that all reported threats in schools and kindergartens in Zagreb that day were false, following thorough anti-explosive checks across multiple sites.

City officials in Zagreb condemned the incidents today, describing them as deliberate attempts to cause anxiety among children and disrupt the education system.

They reiterated that even false bomb threats constitute a criminal offence and expressed expectations that those responsible would be identified swiftly. Coordination continues between city authorities, police and the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, with evacuation decisions made in consultation with law enforcement.

Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Božinović has previously described the wave of threats as a form of hybrid activity, noting similarities with incidents seen across the wider region.

He confirmed that Croatian authorities are cooperating with international partners, as some of the email servers and domains used to send the threats are believed to be based abroad.

Police stress that every report is treated as a genuine risk until proven otherwise, with extensive investigations ongoing to trace those behind the coordinated campaign.