Schools across Mayo receive 'prank' email bomb threat

Schools across Mayo were victims of a 'prank' email bomb threat which was also sent to schools across the country on Wednesday.

Gardaí are investigating the email threat which was sent to schools across Mayo on Wednesday morning but the majority were not opened until this morning as schools were closed due to the nationwide public sector strike.

A number of schools in Mayo were visited by An Garda Siochána this morning after reporting the sinister email. When it became apparent that there was no threat to the school, they remained open and continued as normal after receiving advice from the gardaí.

The email came with the subject line - “Death awaits you” and the text of the email begins with “Greetings”. It continued “We are Hamas militants. Today we planted an explosive device in your building.”

A garda source told The Mayo News that the majority of schools in Mayo received the email but described them as a prank and there was no substance to the threat. There is no indication of who was responsible for sending them with schools across the country also receiving them.

The email continued with the author calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as that the European Union withdraw its support for Israel and “you have one hour before dozens of people are blown to pieces”.

The author added: “The explosive device was carefully crafted and contains a timer that will remotely detonate it once the specified time has elapsed.

“To prevent detection by sniffer dogs, it was placed in a vacuum-sealed bag, which makes it impossible to find.”

The email concludes with “Allahu Akbar” - an Arabic phrase which means “God is the greatest”.