Two Threats Force Evacuation of Three Schools in Ghent
Around 850 students and local residents were evacuated in Ghent on Friday morning after two threats were reported at three campuses of the provincial Richtpunt school. Police closed Henleykaai and began searching the school buildings as authorities investigated threatening messages sent to teachers.
The situation began in the morning when staff at the schools received threatening messages. Ghent police were called to the area and immediately treated the reports seriously. Students were prevented from entering the campuses, while the surrounding street was also evacuated.
Kurt Moens, a member of the East Flanders provincial government, said authorities were dealing with two separate threats. One warning reportedly suggested that a shooting could take place during the morning, while another involved a bomb threat.
Authorities believe a Smartschool account may have been hacked and used to send the messages, mainly to teachers. According to Moens, teachers were the ones who intercepted the messages and received the threats.
The three Richtpunt campuses affected are located close to one another in Ghent: Henleykaai, Abdisstraat and Godshuizenlaan. The Henleykaai campus has 568 students and offers secondary education in areas including economics, organization, languages and culture. It also has an OKAN class for newly arrived students who do not speak Dutch.
In total, about 850 students from the three campuses were evacuated. Nearby residents were also ordered to leave the area as police secured the scene.
The evacuation was carried out without major problems, and parents were informed about the situation. Students were initially taken to the nearby Bijlokesite, including the area around the STAM museum.
They were later allowed to return home. The process took some time because students’ cell phones are collected at the beginning of the school day and had to be returned before they could leave. Students were eventually told they would return to school on Monday.
Residents living next to the schools were also caught up in the evacuation. Anders van den Hurk, a student living in a nearby building, said he was suddenly told to leave because of the bomb threat.
He said residents were given little information at the time and were left waiting outside while police dealt with the situation.
Police remained at Henleykaai throughout the day and carried out searches of the school buildings. Earlier reports suggested that Belgium’s bomb disposal service, DOVO, had been called to the scene, but police later denied that DOVO was present.
Authorities have not reported any injuries. All students who were evacuated were confirmed to be safe, while the investigation into the threatening messages and the possible hacking of the Smartschool account remains ongoing.
The incident has caused a major police presence around the three Richtpunt campuses in Ghent, with Henleykaai remaining closed while officers continue their investigation.
