As authorities try to halt bomb scares at various locations, a 16-year-old student has been arrested by security operatives in France over a false bomb threat on Friday, October 20, outside Paris.
The bomb detectors confirming the incident stated that no explosives were found when they checked the location. The reasons behind the teenager’s exact intention have remained unclear.
The French security officials have also been trying to put an end to bomb scares at airports, schools, and major landmarks in the past week.
Following the Hamas attack on Israel, the ensuing war in Gaza, and the deadly stabbing of a teacher in the northern city of Arras last week, the nation has been on high alert due to repeated bomb threats.
The teenager was apprehended over an emailed bomb threat in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône, a town northwest of Paris.
About 1,000 students have been evacuated from Jean Perrin High School where the suspect attended including 1,200 other people around the premises.
The Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, confirming the incident said that 18 arrests had been made over bomb threats between Wednesday and Thursday.
Major French airports located outside of Paris were targeted, resulting in evacuations, lengthy delays, and numerous canceled flights.
According to a statement by France’s minister of justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti noted that 22 investigations had been opened in relation to the false alarms.
“There will obviously be convictions, we cannot let this happen.”
He reiterated his pledge to crack down on “little jokers who have no sense of responsibility.
“The parents must be there and I remind you that it is the parents who will pay the financial consequences”, Dupond-Moretti said.
He added that offenders risk two years in prison and a €30,000 (N24 million) fine.
Meanwhile, the Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau cautioned that the punishment might be even more harsh and said that such bomb threats will henceforth be viewed as a kind of intentional psychological violence.
Beccuau further asserted that such an offense is punishable by three years in prison and a €45,000 (N36 million) fine, adding that minors will be brought before a juvenile judge.
Comments