Reaction is pouring in tonight after hackers posted a series of offensive tweets on the St. Lucie School District Twitter page.
A photo of a lynching was published above an earlier tweet with the text which said: "After Heavy Consideration, Our District Has Decided To Ban All African Americans From Our School District. Thank you!"
No words were needed for veteran St. Lucie teacher Tangela Smith when she saw the post.
She says what happened to a relative decades ago speaks volumes.
“He was hung on a tree just like that, and my family just never got over it,” she says.
Seeing the images and messages of hate posted on the school district's page were a painful reminder.
“For some body to post something like that, they just don't understand family history and what certain people go through,” she says
The tweets were posted just before 4 Friday morning and weren't taken down until just before 1:30 Friday afternoon.
“I was mad as hell,” superintendent Wayne Gent said during a news conference. “Wery very upset...and still am.”
Superintendent Wayne Gent not mincing words on his frustration.
Gent explaining today why it took nearly 12 hours to take the offensive tweets down.
“There's not a hotline that you can contact or hotline that you can call. It's done through emails, it's done through texting and we could not get a response from the organization.”
He distanced his district from the offensive messaging.
“It doesn't represent anything that our school district represents - our values or our mission. And it was a sickening display.”
Gent says St. Lucie County wasn't the only district hit by this hacking group Friday, as other districts nationwide were compromised.
Tony Barnes, President of the St. Lucie County NAACP, says he is set to meet with Gent and the Fort Pierce Police department to discuss the investigation moving forward.
EARLIER STORY:
The St. Lucie County School District said its Twitter account was compromised early Friday morning.
A photo of a lynching was published above an earlier tweet with the text which said: "After Heavy Consideration, Our District Has Decided To Ban All African Americans From Our School District. Thank you!"
On its Facebook page the district issued this statement:
The St. Lucie Public Schools' Twitter Account has been compromised by individuals not associated with or representing the organization in any manner.
The District is working earnestly to remove inappropriate postings and remedy this matter as quickly as possible.
This is a developing story and will be updated.