An investigation has been launched after a threat was made against Columbine High School during a Zoom call between teachers and parents.
The call was hacked on Tuesday evening while parents were being updated on plans for remote learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
As reported by KDVR, people managed to gain entrance into the online meeting as it was not password protected and then displayed images of Nazi soldiers and people being beheaded.
One of the suspects was also alleged to have shouted during the meeting, "Going to shoot your kid in the 2020 Columbine remake."
Columbine was the scene of one of the most high profile mass shootings to occur in the U.S. when 12 students and one teacher were massacred in 1999.
"Columbine receives threats from sick individuals throughout the school year, so unfortunately, it is something the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deals with regularly. This case will be investigated to the fullest to find out who did this," said Mike Taplin, spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
In an additional statement to Newsweek, Taplin confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing.
"Even though the vast majority of these types of threats and actions are done to get attention, we take every school threat seriously," Taplin added.
The school later sent parents a new Zoom link which was password protected. Administrators also emailed parents of the students to apologize for the incident.
"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," wrote Tammy Schiff, chief communications officer with Jeffco Public Schools.
"It's unfortunate that these 'bad actors' took such heinous advantage of what was intended to be an opportunity for family engagement around the start of school details for the Columbine High School community."
Security.org states there have been 231 school shootings in the U.S since 1999, with 304 fatalities. In terms of number of deaths, the worst school shootings are the 2007 Virginia Tech attack, in which 32 people were killed, the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, in which 26 people including 20 young children children were killed, and the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead.
Anyone with information about the Zoom hack is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 303-271-0211.
