Police have arrested a 15-year-old on suspicion of making a false bomb threat against a school in Ghent, the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office said.
Ghent police were alerted at about 09:15 on Friday after two threatening messages sent overnight via the Smartschool platform were reported at Richtpunt school on Heynleykaai.
As a precaution, the surrounding area was evacuated, and a wide security perimeter was set up. Access to the buildings was blocked. People in the neighbouring Ghent University of Applied Sciences building were also evacuated and taken to the De Bijloke music centre.
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Police carried out a thorough search of the school buildings, with an explosives dog also deployed to the scene. The search found no suspicious items. The security perimeter was lifted at about 15:00, and the buildings were reopened.
A subsequent investigation led to the identification and arrest of the 15-year-old suspect, who is due to be questioned by police.
Since 1 September, Belgium has had a new criminal code, replacing the distinction between crimes, offences and infractions with a system of eight penalty levels. Under Article 234 of the new code, making a false bomb threat is punishable at level two.
