Françoise: “My daughter and I were sitting on the couch together, I was quizzing her. At a quarter past ten she received the threatening email. “I’m going to shoot you all,” it said. “Just enjoy your life.” Below the text was a photo of a male hand with a gun.”
Threatening email to 106 students
The vehemence of this email immediately reminded Françoise of the horrific high school shootings in America, one of which took place not so long ago in Uvalde, Texas. “That goes straight to your head. That news item was of course very intense.” Yet she remained sober: “I actually quickly thought it had to be a teenage joke. An adolescent joke that really can’t be done. That’s why I asked my daughter to send the mail to me so that I could forward it to school. But before she had the chance, the school itself already emailed.” That email showed that no fewer than 106 students had received the threatening email that evening.
Hacked school email
“My daughter was immediately busy Snapchatting with classmates. Everyone was talking about it.” At first, the email seemed to come from a student at the school. “Later we heard that the student did not send the message, that the school email was hacked. Very sad, because that student has nothing to do with it and yet there was speculation about it for a while.” After an investigation by the school, it turned out that the e-mail came from abroad.
Shocked daughter by threatening email
Afterwards, Françoise asked her daughter if she was very shocked. “Yes, that turned out to be the case. The fact that the e-mail came from abroad did not reassure her either. “Then he can still be at our school within a day,” she said. So she feared that someone would actually come to school with a gun.”
Don’t let fear rule
The school remained open on Wednesday. According to the police it was safe, they would keep an eye on it. “My daughter thought that was exciting. “I don’t want to go to school tomorrow, I don’t think it’s safe,” she said. I encouraged her to just go. “If the police say it’s safe, it’s safe. If there’s a school with extra security now, it’s yours’, I told her. I didn’t want fear to reign in her, that’s exactly what such a threat wants.”
Plainclothes Police
Françoise is very satisfied with the approach of the school. “The director was waiting for the students and it was discussed openly with them. The communication of the school is always very good. When my daughter came home after school, she said that there had been a lot of strange faces that day. It turned out to be a plainclothes police officer. So they took it very seriously.”
The school was closed anyway
On Wednesday evening, an email suddenly arrived that it had been decided – in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the police and the mayor – to close the school on Thursday. “It was only then that I realized that there was something more going on. And I had to argue with my daughter. “You said it was safe yesterday!” she cried indignantly. Yes, she had a point there, but the school was closed as part of the investigation.”
postponed party
The school also had to remain closed on Friday. That while the 96th anniversary of the school would be celebrated that day. Something the students were really looking forward to after that long corona period. This party will be celebrated at a later date, but it is not yet clear when the school will open its doors again. “We received an email that the school does not yet know whether the investigation will be completed on Tuesday. So that remains to be seen.” If that is the case, Françoise will send her daughter there again with confidence: “I think that this school will be the safest school in the Netherlands for the coming weeks. The investigation is in full swing and we will be kept well informed. I hope it ends with a fizzle and that it was just a lame joke from a teenager who could not foresee the consequences of his actions.”
The threat email in question: