After bomb threats against schools and shopping malls, police conducted searches in several states. Four suspects are under investigation, two of whom are minors. The motive apparently caught the public’s attention.
After hundreds of bomb threats across the country, the Federal Criminal Police Office launched raids on members of the group allegedly responsible. There were searches of four suspects, some of whom are minors, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hesse, as well as a young witness in Saxony-Anhalt, authorities in Wiesbaden announced.
Evidence such as electronic equipment and storage media was confiscated during the search. There was no mention of any arrests. The suspects are said to have sent fake threatening emails to schools and train stations, for example. It said they acted “as part of a supra-regional actor group” and only joined virtually, in a messenger group called “Schweinetreff”.
Several incidents also occurred in Austria
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, the emails triggered “hundreds of cases,” sometimes triggering large-scale police operations and evacuations. In 2024, shopping centers in Saxony-Anhalt and North Rhine-Westphalia as well as railway stations, the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk building in Magdeburg as well as schools and public institutions were affected.
Other similar measures also impacted Austria. Several large-scale police and evacuation operations were also carried out there. Cooperation with Austrian authorities ultimately led to the identification of the alleged perpetrator, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
The suspect wanted to attract attention
According to authorities, the alleged perpetrators’ aim was said to be “to disturb public peace by threatening to commit criminal acts.” They wanted to trigger “the largest possible operational situation” and create “the greatest possible uncertainty among the public” in order to enjoy a reaction from security authorities and related attention, he said.
Presumably to increase the effect of the threat, emails often have “Islamist references.” However, “religiously motivated motivation” could not be proven during the investigation. All threats are also false.
