INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — A teacher in Indian River County is being investigated after a video posted on YouTube shows a lizard being shot out of a tube at a school.
The video, which was posted Thursday, shows the teacher and another person use what appears to be a metal rod to stuff the reptile into the tube.
The lizard is then launched through a metal pipe using compressed air.
"Witnesses say the thrust from the compressed air combined with the impact of the concrete caused the animal to die," the person who posted the video wrote.
WARNING: This video below contains language and actions that some viewers may find disturbing:
The school district released the following statement Thursday on the matter:
We were recently alerted of a video showing an SDIRC staff member participating in the mistreatment of a reptile while on campus. We are disheartened to be alerted to a video of this nature and want to ensure the community that this behavior is not indicative of the professionalism we expect from our staff members, or the culture and climate of our school district. We have taken immediate action to thoroughly investigate this situation. Animal abuse of any type on any species will not be tolerated.