Two bomb threats were made on Tuesday in Tournai, the first at a school and the second at Notre-Dame Hospital. Regional law enforcement services reacted promptly in both cases.
The threat to the hospital, part of the Centre hospitalier de Wallonie Picarde (ChWapi), was issued around 4:30 p.m. Local police, supported by a team of dogs from the federal force, quickly arrived on the scene and secured the neighbourhood.
“The hospital wasn’t evacuated and the search was called off by 5:45 p.m.,” Tournai Mayor Paul-Olivier Delannois said just after 6.00 p.m. “An adult, the person behind the threat, was swiftly identified and arrested by the police.”
A patient from the hospital’s psychiatry department, using a mobile phone, was the source of the threat. The device was quickly located by police, a reliable source confirmed to Belga News Agency.
The Tournai prosecutor’s office chose not to comment on the arrest or the events that occurred earlier in the day.
On Tuesday morning, the first bomb threat led to the evacuation of the Sainte-Union school, located on Douai Road, Tournai. The nearby ITMA school was also evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Students and teaching staff converged at the city’s sports hall, a short distance from the two institutions. “The search of the premises also turned out to be negative,” Mayor Delannois said.
Following the searches, the students returned to their respective schools.
