LACEY, Wash. — Lacey police are working to identify who posted a potential threat and profanity during a 7th grade online class Tuesday.
According to a spokesperson for North Thurston Public Schools, someone who should not have been in the Komachin Middle School health class posted swear words and threatened to “bring my AR15 to school again.”
Tania Marble’s daughter is in the class.
Marble happened to be looking over her daughter’s shoulder and noticed the postings.
She interrupted the class and alerted the teacher to the comments and said she told the person writing the posts to leave the session.
”School shootings aren’t funny. Dead kids aren’t funny. You don’t joke about those things. So I went a little ‘Momma Bear’ in the class frankly,” Marble said.
This type of online harassment during online conference calls from uninvited participants is commonly referred to as "Zoom bombing." Other groups have reported similar instances.
North Thurston district spokesperson Courtney Schrieve said teachers are supposed to approve students individually to enter the Zoom sessions by using the application’s Waiting Room option.
Schrieve said the teacher inadvertently allowed the person to enter the class.
”I think when you have 25 to 30 students, sometimes maybe people slip in there,” Schrieve said. “We’re going to really make sure that doesn’t happen again. The teacher sent out an email to parents apologizing.”
Schrieve said other districts have had reports of "Zoom bombing," where unauthorized visitors interrupt instruction.
She said all of the district's teachers would be sent a letter informing them what happened as a reminder to be careful who they allow in their online classes.