Benevento Mayor Clemente Mastella said schools in the city will be open as usual tomorrow, following a day of precautionary evacuations caused by anonymous bomb-threat emails sent to several schools.
Speaking after attending the Prefecture's public-order and security committee, Mastella urged students, families and residents not to give in to excessive alarm while authorities continue their checks and investigations.
What happened
According to local reports, anonymous emails warning of possible explosive devices prompted precautionary evacuations and security inspections at several educational institutions in Benevento, including the Giannone, Rummo, Galilei-Vetrone, Convitto Nazionale and Sant'Angelo a Sasso schools.
Students and staff were moved out of the buildings while police and other authorities carried out checks. The reports stated that no explosive device had been confirmed during the inspections described so far.
The immediate response therefore followed two tracks: evacuate and inspect as a precaution on the day of the alerts, then resume normal school activity in Benevento the following day.
Mastella: no excessive alarm, coordinated response needed
Mastella said the priority was to avoid excessive alarmism while taking every report seriously. He also placed the Benevento alerts in the context of a wider series of bomb alerts reported across Italy.
In comments reported locally, he described the episode as part of a strategy of tension linked to cyber-terrorism and said it required a coordinated institutional response, rather than isolated or panicked decisions by individual communities.
No official investigative finding identifying who sent the anonymous messages, or whether the various alerts were coordinated, has been reported in the sources available so far.
What parents and students should know
For families in Benevento, the practical message from the mayor is straightforward: schools are scheduled to operate normally tomorrow.
Parents should still follow a few common-sense precautions on days when alerts have occurred:
- Check communications from the individual school for any change in entry times, meeting points or access procedures.
- Avoid spreading unverified messages and screenshots about alleged devices or suspects.
- Remind students to report unattended bags or suspicious items to teachers or police, without touching them.
- Allow extra time in the morning in case of residual security checks or traffic around school buildings.
The decision to reopen applies to Benevento as reported by Mastella. Arrangements in other municipalities may differ, so families outside the city should rely on their own school and local authorities.
A precautionary approach
The Benevento episode illustrates the approach now commonly used for emailed threats to schools: evacuate first, verify through police checks, and communicate a return to normality once officials judge it appropriate.
Authorities have not reported confirmation of explosives in connection with these school checks. The origin of the emails remains under investigation, and no complete nationwide count of affected schools has been provided in the available reports.
