ROSTOV-ON-DON, October 10 (RIA Novosti) – A spate of bomb hoaxes at schools across Russia is down to teenagers who want the time off to play online games, local police said Thursday.
“According to operational officers, teenagers aged under 17 living in various Russian cities have been involved in bomb reports,” a statement on the local Interior Ministry website for the Rostov Region in southern Russia said Thursday.
They are linked by online gaming, the local police statement said, adding that they trade tips about how best to skip school while playing online.
Five schools in the city of Taganrog have had 10 bomb hoaxes in less than a year, the statement says.
Ten criminal cases into “deliberately false reports on an act of terrorism” have been opened in Taganrog, the statement says. The perpetrators could face up to three years in prison or fines.
Meanwhile, the regional Federal Security Service branch noted that the teenagers used Skype and voice-disguising technology, to communicate.
An investigation is underway.
