Lithuanian police said Sunday evening that threats targeting schools in the country were being circulated on the messaging platform Telegram, prompting increased patrols but no disruption to school operations.
The Police Department said officers received about 20 reports Sunday related to the threats. According to police spokesperson Ramūnas Matonis, a Telegram channel published threatening messages claiming that violent acts, including possible shootings, could take place Monday at specific Lithuanian schools. The posts included a list of schools.
On Monday, Matonis said the threats were likely spread from a fake account based in Russia. He told LRT RADIO that preliminary information shows the Telegram channel and account used to disseminate the messages were fake and have since been blocked.
“Based on initial data, that channel and account were fake and have been shut down. This has happened in other countries before, but new accounts continue to be used,” Matonis said. “We see that the trail most likely leads to Russia. These threats were and are most likely being sent from Russia.”
Matonis said Kazakhstan previously faced a similar situation, where authorities determined the threats originated in Russia.
“This essentially looks like the same pattern, with all these threatening messages coming from that country,” he said.
Police urged the public not to panic, to act responsibly and remain vigilant. Schools have been advised to continue operating as usual.
According to Matonis, police patrols have been instructed to visit schools in their assigned areas to assess the situation. School officials responsible for safety have also been asked to inspect school grounds and immediately report any suspicious objects to police.
“If teachers or students notice any suspicious individuals, they should also report it to police as quickly as possible,” Matonis said.
In October 2023, thousands of Lithuanian institutions received bomb threat emails over several days, including schools, kindergartens and municipalities. Similar messages were sent at the time to educational institutions in Latvia and Estonia.
Lithuania’s State Security Department said then the incident was likely a targeted and coordinated attack carried out at the initiative of hostile states.
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