“Terrorist threat” on Hague grammar school concerns parents

Fear reigned among parents who have children attending the Roman Catholic primary school De Fontein in the Hague after a photo of the school's neighborhood was posted on the terrorism monitor site terrorismemonitor.nl. The link showing the photo spread through parents of the school like wildfire, the AD reports. The photo was placed on twitter by Abu Samir Almaghrebi with the accompanying tweet: "They thinking they are save. Islamic State is everywhere." The report eventually reached the school, who contacted the police, Public Prosecutor and municipality of The Hague. Ewald van Vliet, CEO of Lucas Onderwijs, under which De Fontein falls, confirmed to the newspaper that the police are aware of the photo. The school sent an email to the parents on Wednesday night saying that the matter has been investigated and that there is no terrorist threat. "The children can safely go to school". Not all parents were reassured by the email, however. According to one father, several parents considered not sending their kids to school on Thursday. "Why did that mail arrive so late. There was a great need for openness and clarity. The less you say, the more panic you get." Van Vliet told the AD that he understands the unrest among the parents and that they can go to the school to have their questions answered. He also explained that the email could not be sent earlier as the school first wanted to make absolutely sure of the current state of affairs and was constantly in contact with the police, municipality and judiciary. The school also arranged extra security to put the parents' minds at rest.