PSNI confirms threatening emails which caused disruption to schools and parents across Northern Ireland 'originated from outside the UK'
The PSNI have confirmed they are treating threatening emails sent to schools across Northern Ireland on Monday morning as a hoax.
They said up to 300 schools to date have reported receiving the same emailed message which contained “a generalised threat”.
It is believed similar emails have been received by some schools across UK.
Police said their enquiries are continuing but checks have not, at this time, resulted in anything untoward.
Based on enquiries and information to date, they said they are treating this email, which “originated from outside the UK”, as a hoax.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: "We take incidents of this nature very seriously and we understand the concern in the community, not to mention the disruption it has caused in some school communities and for students and parents.
"Our enquiries are ongoing, however, at this stage we consider risk to the public as low. We will continue to liaise with schools impacted and have been working closely with the Department of Education and the Education Authority this morning to provide reassurance.
"We urge everyone, in the meantime, to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to police immediately by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency."
While the majority of schools remained open, some did close as a result of these threatening emails.
Call handlers from Police Scotland assisted PSNI with the volume of incoming reports on Monday morning.