Is it "Swatting" in the case of bomb threats in schools & Co. in Vienna, Lower Austria & Upper Austria?

In the so-called "swatting", large-scale police operations are deliberately triggered with false information. The term comes from SWAT, the abbreviation for "special weapons and tactics", which refers to tactical special units of the police in the USA. "Swatting" cannot be ruled out, it was said upon inquiry by the APA. It is also being clarified whether the cases are related to similar threats in neighboring countries, including the German state of Bavaria. Furthermore, investigators are examining whether the threatening letters were written by artificial intelligence (AI).

Bomb threats at more than 50 schools and institutions in Vienna, Lower Austria, and Upper Austria

The bomb threats were received "at more than 50 institutions, primarily schools" over the past three days, as DSN Director Omas Haijawi-Pirchner said on Monday. Institutions in at least six federal states were affected.

"The police take such threats seriously and have responded immediately in all cases," it was stated in a statement to the APA on Tuesday. Depending on the respective situation, individually appropriate police measures were taken. In some cases, affected schools were evacuated or closed. "The primary goal of these measures is to avert danger. Currently, there are no indications of a concrete threat."

The Ministry of the Interior again "explicitly" pointed out "that bomb threats are not a trivial offense. The perpetrators can expect severe penalties."

(APA/Red.)

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