Due to a threat situation in Duisburg, all secondary and comprehensive schools in the city will remain closed at the beginning of the week. This was announced by a spokesperson for the Duisburg police headquarters to the German Press Agency on Sunday evening. Distance learning will take place at the affected schools today as a substitute. The newspaper "Bild" had previously reported this.
According to the police, a letter with "threatening and right-wing extremist statements" had already been received by the school management of the Gesamtschule-Mitte on Friday. The unknown sender had announced criminal acts for this Monday at the educational institution, it said. The Duisburg state security department immediately began an investigation.
On Sunday, the same school then received another letter with threatening content, which also affected 13 other schools in the city, the police explained. "Experts from the Duisburg State Security Office came to the conclusion that the announced acts cannot be assumed to be serious as part of the overall assessment of the current situation."
Classroom teaching suspended for security reasons
Nevertheless, safety precautions were taken as a precaution. After internal consultation, the district government has decided to suspend in-person classes at the schools concerned, the police wrote. "In order to further minimize a possible residual risk, the Duisburg police will carry out educational and presence measures directly at the schools on 7 April."
News of the school closures quickly made the rounds in the city of 500,000 inhabitants. Some schools posted information on their websites about the threat situation and the cancellation of face-to-face lessons. Instead, there will be lessons in distance learning format, they said.
According to the police, a letter with "threatening and right-wing extremist statements" had already been received by the school management of the Gesamtschule-Mitte on Friday. The unknown sender had announced criminal acts for this Monday at the educational institution, it said. The Duisburg state security department immediately began an investigation.
On Sunday, the same school then received another letter with threatening content, which also affected 13 other schools in the city, the police explained. "Experts from the Duisburg State Security Office came to the conclusion that the announced acts cannot be assumed to be serious as part of the overall assessment of the current situation."
Classroom teaching suspended for security reasons
Nevertheless, safety precautions were taken as a precaution. After internal consultation, the district government has decided to suspend in-person classes at the schools concerned, the police wrote. "In order to further minimize a possible residual risk, the Duisburg police will carry out educational and presence measures directly at the schools on 7 April."
News of the school closures quickly made the rounds in the city of 500,000 inhabitants. Some schools posted information on their websites about the threat situation and the cancellation of face-to-face lessons. Instead, there will be lessons in distance learning format, they said.
