FOXBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division is warning people about teleconferencing and online classroom hijackings following two incidents with Massachusetts schools.
Jack Austin, a Foxborough eighth-grader who attended one of the affected classes, said that a stranger shared their phone screen and then started pulling up inappropriate and disturbing images of a deadly mass shooting.
“We were just there to learn and it wasn’t helping. Like the teacher was struggling with the material in class, so everyone just left,” Austin recalled.
The eighth-grader said this is the second day in a row something like this has happened.
It all started with pictures of other students, then progressed to anti-Semitic content and images from a mosque shooting in Christchurch New Zealand, Austin recalled.
“Yesterday, he was just showing inappropriate pictures to the class,” he added. “Today was… there was a shooting in New Zealand. It was just very inappropriate in the class.”
The FBI now saying that what many call “Zoom-bombing” has become a common problem as school districts go virtual to keep students safe from the spread of the coronavirus.
“They’ll generally wait for a couple minutes before they interrupt the meeting by using profanity or showing disturbing images on screen,” Special Agent Doug Domin explained.
The Foxborough School District did not respond to 7NEWS requests for a statement; however, a parent shared an email that confirmed Austin’s story.
In it, the superintendent wrote, “We are working with Zoom, the School District’s Director of Technology, teachers and the Foxborough Police, to ensure that this does not happen again. As always, the safety of our students is always our first priority.”
Austin and his dad, Shawn, hope that the disruptions stop before classes get too far behind.
“I hope they can get a handle on it,” Austin’s father said. “I think we’re in uncharted territory here.”
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