Jyväskylä College Evacuated due to Hoax
Image: YLE
Two campuses of a technical college in Jyväskylä were evacuated Monday due to a threat made against the school. The fatal shooting at a college in Kauhajoki at the end of September has spawned a number of hoax threats against other schools across the country.
The National Bureau of Investigation says that 129 threats have been made against schools in the past week and a half. This is a dramatic increase in hoaxes. From last November's Jokela shootings up until the Kauhajoki events, only around 90 such threats were made.
Like Monday's scare in Jyväskylä, they have largely been proven to be hoaxes.
Police searched the campus for explosives or other dangers. They found none, and have also been unable to identify the person who made the threat in an IRC-gallery. Unlawful threats are punishable by fines or up to five years in prison.
"Those who make threats will absolutely be made to take responsibility for thier actions, if we catch them," says Jyväskylä chief constable Tuomo Korhonen.
Classes resumed on Tuesday at the Jyvaskylä campuses. If the perpetrator of the hoax is identified, he or she could also be liable for financial damages incurred by the one-day closure of the school.