Croatian police have arrested several young people - including a minor - over fake bomb threats at schools in Split and Rijeka. It's the third wave of this kind of phenomenon this school year. And while the authorities deal with a specific law for such cases, the question stands: why are kids playing games with serious threats?

Fake bomb threats are nothing new. In the seventies and eighties, this was a way to skip class. Today, it's a federal criminal offence in most countries, with prison sentences of several years. Croatia is following the European trend, and the courts are taking it seriously.

But who are these people in custody? According to reports - males aged between 14 and 22. They are not "terrorists". They are not organised groups. They are kids playing games with real consequences. Maybe because school is boring. Maybe as "the funniest joke". Maybe because social media glorifies the moment of drama.

Croatia - a country of 4 million people - has a systemic problem with these threats. In 2025 there were more than 200 cases. In 2026 already more than 80. A trend that is growing. And every case means school evacuations, the deployment of police and firefighters, panicked parents, lost classroom time.

For the Balkan region, this is a warning sign. Macedonian schools exist. We have teenagers. Social media is the same. The question is: do we have this inside us already, or has it just not surfaced yet? And if we have it - do we have a system for early detection, or are we going to wait until the situation escalates?

A fake bomb threat is not an "innocent joke". It is an act that spreads panic, disrupts order, and casts a shadow over the security system. The Croatian reaction with arrests is clear. We still don't have a public discussion about how to deal with this. Maybe the time has come for that discussion to start - before some Skopje student decides to "show off" with the same kind of "initiative".