Bomb threats at the Istituto Biella 2 (November 2026)
Date of the event:
On 11 and 12 November 2026 the Istituto Biella 2 received two bomb threats by email, on consecutive days. The school is headed by former education minister and Five Star Movement member of parliament Lucia Azzolina, now a school principal. The school was not evacuated on either occasion [1][2].
The facts
The first threatening email arrived on 11 November and was initially classified as spam. The second, on 12 November, arrived at around 10 in the morning and went straight to the inbox [1].
Azzolina recounted the events as a guest on the Rai Radio1 programme Un Giorno da Pecora: «Yesterday and today bomb threats arrived by email. However we did not evacuate, neither yesterday nor today. Safety comes first, but there are procedures, which we followed together with the police forces and the other bodies involved» [1].
The decision not to evacuate
According to the principal, the choice not to evacuate was made following procedures agreed with the police forces and with reference to a notice from Palazzo Chigi, which Azzolina says she personally agrees with [1].
On the practical consequences of not evacuating, Azzolina reports that only one parent, the day before, chose to take their daughter home, while otherwise activities continued as normal. The principal notes that the school has 850 families and that it is not possible to notify them every day, adding that the school's task is to protect the children «in the best way» [1].
Theories about those responsible
Asked about the possibility that Russian perpetrators are behind the threats, Azzolina says she does not know and cannot say anything about it, hoping for a serious investigation into who is sending the emails [1].
Sources
- L'ex ministra Azzolina: non ho evacuato la scuola per l'allarme bomba — ANSA Piemonte, 12 November 2026
- Allarmi bomba, Lucia Azzolina preside a Biella ed ex ministra: nessuna evacuazione per i bambini — Radio Gold, 12 November 2026