Police in Sandnes on Norway’s west coast announced Wednesday that a bomb threat had been lodged against a local NAV welfare office. The threat was made over the phone, and prompted the evacuation of both the building where the NAV office is located and a nearby high school.
Police also cordoned off the area around the NAV office on Gravarsvegen in Sandnes. NAV employees and as many as 30 students and teachers at Gand Videregående skole were evacuated.
The school’s principal later told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that the evacuation was “not dramatic” and that students were given the rest of the day off. The school will be closed on Friday after the Ascension Day holiday on Thursday. By mid-afternoon, the situation around the NAV office was said to be stabilizing and no bomb had been found. Heavily armed police remained posted around the building until the threat subsided.
NRK reported that the same NAV office was closed twice in February after threats were made against it. A man in his 30s was later arrested in one of the cases, while another man reported himself to police in the other case.
newsinenglish.no staff
