Threats prompt Milan design school to send students home

A design school in Milan sent students home after threats circulated on social media, according to mbl.is, as the city dealt with unrest following protests over the weekend. Katrín Sunneva Einarsdóttir, an Icelandic student at the Istituto Europeo di Design, said the situation had begun to calm down.

The largest demonstrations took place on Saturday, she said. Sunday was relatively quiet, but on Monday threats circulated online against schools and neighbourhoods, including threats to set them on fire or blow them up. After the school learned of the threats, students were quickly sent home.

Katrín described the evacuation as unsettling. Some students remained calm, she said, while others became frightened and hurried away or tried to get home or find somewhere to stay indoors.

The school told students on Tuesday that it was safe to return. Security guards were stationed at every entrance, watching people enter and leave. Katrín said their presence offered some reassurance, but it was also disturbing that the school had judged such measures necessary.

People around her were anxious about the coming weekend, when further protests were expected. The Italian government said it planned to send 500 soldiers to Milan after the unrest. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described those responsible as “thugs who exploit protests to spread chaos.”

Katrín was not in the city during Saturday’s demonstrations, but said many of her friends encountered tear gas and heard the disturbance. When she was sent home from school, she saw three young men dressed in black and wearing balaclavas. She said that was the only incident she had witnessed herself.