A school in Bilthoven has been closed a a precautionary measure following a threatening email, local broadcaster RTV Utrecht reports.

The email, which contained a photograph of a gun and was sent to pupils at trade school De Werkplaats, said ‘I’m going to shoot you all. Enjoy your life while you can’.

The mail was sent from the mailbox of one of the students who reported the mail himself and said he had nothing to do with it. His account had probably been hacked, the school’s director said.

Local mayor Sjoerd Potters decided all 1,300 pupils and their teachers should stay at home after consulting with police and the public prosecution office.

Meanwhile police continue their search for the person who made the threat, which comes just days after the recent school shooting in Uvalde in the United States.

In 2019, an 18-year-old Amsterdam youth was arrested after placing a English-language video on YouTube saying he was making preparations to shoot at a school. Dutch police were alerted to him by the FBI.