A minor was detained in Charleroi on Thursday in connection with an investigation into a terror threat aimed at secondary schools. He sent an email to around 30 schools in Wallonia in which he warned of a "Day of terror".
The National Crisis Centre (NCCN) announced on Wednesday night that it had been alerted to a potential threat against all secondary schools in Belgium. The manner of communication made it an exceptional occurrence.
However, Belgium's Threat Assessment Body (OCAD) called for calm on Thursday morning, stating that the threat was "not credible based on available information." But in the meantime, several Walloon schools had already taken measures: some schools remained closed, while pupils were not allowed on the playground in others.
By Friday, the Charleroi Public Prosecutor's Office, which was investigating the threat's origin, confirmed a suspect behind the threat had been arrested, reinforcing an initial report from VRT.
The suspect is said to be a minor who could be identified by the IP address of his computer. Whether it is a pupil of one of the schools involved is not yet clear.
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VRT confirmed that the NCCN's warning calling for "increased vigilance" on Wednesday came after some 30 schools in Wallonia received a message from a Russian email address in the late afternoon.
In the email, the minor announced that "a day of terror would follow" the following day (Thursday). The email reportedly referred to the terrorist organisation Islamic State and spoke of Kalashnikovs, bomb belts and grenades being deployed.
Since the Brussels terror attack on 16 October 2023, which claimed the lives of two Swedish nationals, several schools have received bomb threats. These all proved to be false. The NCCN, OCAD and partner services continue to monitor the situation closely.
