'Malicious' emails that hit at least 10 schools and triggered lockdowns were 'not terror-related'
13.07.2023 - 18:15
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
At least 10 schools across Manchester received 'malicious' threats on Thursday (July 13), prompting a number to go into lockdown, the Manchester Evening News understands.
Although the contents of the messages have not been confirmed, it is understood the emails were sent to a number of schools in and around Manchester, including in Chorlton and Cheetham Hill.
It is also understood that the emails were not 'bomb threats' and that the incident is not currently being treated as terror-related by police. Manchester City Council said a number of schools received communications 'outlining a threat to the school'.
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A number of schools were put on 'lockdown' earlier on Thursday, with one primary school locking doors and banning visitors with worried parents receiving emails and letters home informing them of the incident.
The M.E.N. has seen one email sent to parents understood to be from a primary school in Wythenshawe. It said they received 'a threat in an email this morning', adding other schools in Manchester did too. The police visited and deemed everything to be safe.
At Oswald Road Primary School in Chorlton, a police car was stationed outside for most of the day until children left as usual. Parents and guardians gathered outside to find out information after the news broke. A police officer at the scene told parents all the children were safe and in classrooms.
One parent revealed the contents of an email sent home to parents, which referenced a 'partial lockdown' but said there was no threat inside the school. As home time approached, children could be seen waving from windows to their parents outside before leaving as