15-Year-Old Sentenced After Bomb Threats Against Schools

Additionally, probation assistance was ordered. The student confessed, calling it a "joke." The verdict is not final, and the prosecutor made no statement.

The teenager was accused of sending bomb threats via email to three schools on May 7 - in Linz and Traun in Upper Austria, as well as St. Veit an der Glan in Carinthia. In these emails, he claimed to have hidden explosive devices in the buildings, which he could detonate at any time. Two of the educational institutions were searched by experts with bomb-sniffing dogs, but no dangerous substances were found. The 15-year-old was quickly tracked down via his IP address. He has already been billed 2,652 euros for the police operation in Upper Austria.

Bomb Threats Against Schools: Defendant Spoke of Reckless Behavior

"I don't know what was wrong with me," the teenager apologized for his reckless behavior. The judge noted that since he had written the emails in English, it was probably "not just a coincidence." He must have thought about the content - including the fact that if a bomb went off, there could be "a lot of deaths to mourn."

However, the boy insisted: "I didn't think, I thought it was a joke." He denied the intention of that dangerous threat "to instill fear and unrest in others." Therefore, the judge did not consider the boy's apology to be a convincing confession.

Apology to the Schools Made

His defense attorney also emphasized that the act was "nonsense," but the client "in hindsight very well" knows that it was not the smartest thing he had done. However, he has already apologized to the schools, a conversation with the management of his school went positively, he is allowed to continue attending and will likely move up to the next grade. He will also pay off the costs for the police operations by taking summer jobs.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.