A Zoom call between teachers and parents of Columbine High School was interrupted by hackers who threatened another mass shooting.
The incident occurred during a Tuesday call at the Colorado school. Teachers had been speaking to parents about virtual learning and other plans put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic when the hackers began to show photos of Nazi soldiers and people being decapitated.
“My youngest son was in the background, and he got terrified. He got sick to his stomach,” a parent who was part of the virtual meeting told KDVR.
While the photos were being shown, the hackers also verbally threatened the high school, which was the location of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. In April 1999, 15 people died, including the attackers, when two students began shooting.
One of the hackers reportedly threatened, “Going to shoot your kid in the 2020 Columbine remake!”
“Columbine receives threats from sick individuals throughout the school year, so unfortunately, it is something the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deals with regularly,” said Mike Taplin, a spokesman with the sheriff’s office. “This case will be investigated to the fullest to find out who did this.”
The Zoom call was reportedly not password protected, allowing the hackers easy entry into the event. A new call was later arranged that was password protected.
“This unfortunate and hateful display does not in any way suggest a breach or compromise to the security we have in place for our virtual learning systems,” said Tammy Schiff, chief communications officer with Jeffco Public Schools.
Other similar hacks have happened across the country since the pandemic caused a lot of business and communications to move online. In April, an online meeting of the Indiana Election Committee was interrupted by a hacker who shared pornography. Earlier this month, a bail hearing for a teenager charged with hacking high-level Twitter accounts was also inundated with pornography.
