'2020 Columbine remake': Hackers threaten 1999-like massacre at Colorado school's parent-teacher Zoom meeting
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO: Authorities in Colorado are investigating after hackers disrupted a Zoom meeting between parents and educators of the Columbine High School and threatened to commit another massacre. The disturbing incident unfolded this past Tuesday, August 18, after the Zoom meeting was scheduled to update parents on remote learning at the high school, which was the scene of a mass shooting that killed 12 students and one teacher in 1999.
However, because the meeting was not password-protected, the meeting was hijacked by hackers who started showing the participants images of Nazi soldiers and people being beheaded. They also threatened to re-enact the school shooting, with one of the hackers proclaiming, "Going to shoot your kid in the 2020 Columbine remake!"
The meeting was quickly brought to an end and another one that was password-protected was set up in its place but the damage had been done. "My youngest son was in the background and he got terrified. He got sick to his stomach," one of the parents who were in the meeting said. "I’m not sending my son to school," the parent added. "I would like him to continue online through Columbine, but as far as sending him in person – that’s a big threat to me."
The next day, the school administrators emailed the parents who were on Zoom to apologize for what had transpired. They also assured them that the hacking was not indicative of the security measures they had taken so virtual classes could go forward for this school year. "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. "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."
Investigators said that these kinds of threats had unfortunately been common in the years since the mass shooting but said that they would nonetheless be investigated thoroughly. "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 spokesperson with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported how public school officials in the Jefferson County school district were considering a plan that would see the Columbine High School getting demolished and another one getting constructed in its place.
Jason Glass, the superintendent of Jefferson County public schools, had announced the plan in June 2019 in a letter addressed to Columbine staff, students, parents, and members of the surrounding Denver suburb of Littleton, explaining many still expressed a "morbid fascination" with the school.
"The tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999 serves as a point of origin for this contagion of school shootings," he wrote. "School shooters refer to and study the Columbine shooting as a macabre source of inspiration and motivation. Since the morbid fascination with Columbine has been increasing over the years, rather than dissipating, we believe it is time for our community to consider this option for the existing Columbine building."
The 64-year-old Frank DeAngelis, who was the principal of the school at the time of the shooting, has expressed his support for the plan since the new school would still be called Columbine High School to honor the "pride and spirit the community has with the name," and the school mascot and the colors would similarly remain unchanged. "Twenty years ago, we never imagined that there would be people so infatuated with this tragedy years later," he said ."Maybe moving the physical plant would alleviate some of the issues."