ISSUE
Friday, June 19, 2026
Volume 17 . Issue 24
A series of violent threats have been received by multiple schools and organisations across New Zealand, including RNZ.
Schools have been evacuated and parents asked to collect their children after the anonymous threats were made on Tuesday morning.
In a message posted on Whangaparāoa School's website, principal Kevin Cronin said it had received an anonymous bomb threat.
"Even though we doubt the validity of the threat, we feel our role is to make sure that our children and staff are safe," he said.
"The office is not manned. For this reason we ask you to come to the school field area and collect your child.
"You will need to touch base with your child's teacher and sign them out. If someone else is collecting your child, they will need to give the teacher their name."
Orewa College said it was in lockdown because of an "ongoing security incident".
"Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to," the school said.
"We are actively working with the NZ Police."
Christchurch Girls High School went into lockdown around 10am but has since confirmed "all students, staff and persons on-site are safely accounted for".
Acting principal Sonja Bailey said it was advised by the Ministry of Education after it received a "a threatening email".
"During this period the police were onsite and have assured us that we are safe to resume normal operations," she said.
The lockdown was lifted around 10.30am.
Several media organisations, including RNZ, received threats.
Police and the Ministry of Education have been approached for comment.
Earlier this year, an Invercargill teen was arrested for allegedly sending nationwide bomb threats to several organisations including schools and the Department of Corrections.
Ara Institute of Canterbury also received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning resulting in evacuations of its Christchurch and Timaru campuses.
Chief executive Darren Mitchell said Ara was working closely with police.
"We have evacuated all campuses and advised tenants and other campus users to go home as a precautionary measure," he said.
"We are not able to provide further details at this time as the police are leading the response. We will provide updates on our website and via official staff and student channels as confirmed information becomes available."
A series of violent threats have been received by multiple schools and organisations across New Zealand, including RNZ.
Schools have been evacuated and parents asked to collect their children after the anonymous threats were made on Tuesday morning.
In a message posted on Whangaparāoa School's...
A series of violent threats have been received by multiple schools and organisations across New Zealand, including RNZ.
Schools have been evacuated and parents asked to collect their children after the anonymous threats were made on Tuesday morning.
In a message posted on Whangaparāoa School's website, principal Kevin Cronin said it had received an anonymous bomb threat.
"Even though we doubt the validity of the threat, we feel our role is to make sure that our children and staff are safe," he said.
"The office is not manned. For this reason we ask you to come to the school field area and collect your child.
"You will need to touch base with your child's teacher and sign them out. If someone else is collecting your child, they will need to give the teacher their name."
Orewa College said it was in lockdown because of an "ongoing security incident".
"Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to," the school said.
"We are actively working with the NZ Police."
Christchurch Girls High School went into lockdown around 10am but has since confirmed "all students, staff and persons on-site are safely accounted for".
Acting principal Sonja Bailey said it was advised by the Ministry of Education after it received a "a threatening email".
"During this period the police were onsite and have assured us that we are safe to resume normal operations," she said.
The lockdown was lifted around 10.30am.
Several media organisations, including RNZ, received threats.
Police and the Ministry of Education have been approached for comment.
Earlier this year, an Invercargill teen was arrested for allegedly sending nationwide bomb threats to several organisations including schools and the Department of Corrections.
Ara Institute of Canterbury also received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning resulting in evacuations of its Christchurch and Timaru campuses.
Chief executive Darren Mitchell said Ara was working closely with police.
"We have evacuated all campuses and advised tenants and other campus users to go home as a precautionary measure," he said.
"We are not able to provide further details at this time as the police are leading the response. We will provide updates on our website and via official staff and student channels as confirmed information becomes available."
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