Police investigate hackers who showed child porn, yelled slurs at Rockhurst virtual event
A virtual Rockhurst University event highlighting the work of local Black business leaders was interrupted by several people shouting racist slurs who also shared a child pornography video, an internal investigation by the university found.
The Kansas City Police Department and FBI are investigating what happened at the Feb. 3 Zoom meeting, according to an email sent across the campus Tuesday.
Suspects have not been identified, but some of the internet addresses of the people who hacked into the event were international, university administrators said in the email.
“We are aware that other universities and organizations around the nation have been targeted with similar attacks over the past two years, and we are learning from their experiences,” the notification said.
University security will be present at some on campus events going forward.
The event was held by the Black Student Union as part of a celebration for Black History Month.
At 6:07 p.m., a group took control of the Zoom meeting and started yelling racial epithets at participants. As the event organizers attempted to silence the individuals, the hackers began showing a video with child pornography, according to a statement from the Black Student Union.
“I just hope Rockhurst’s investigative team can figure out who did this, and that they work to prevent it in the future,” said Dontavious Young, a panelist at the meeting who owns the Equal Minded Cafe and event space.
Rockhurst’s BSU hopes the group is held criminally liable for the child pornography and hate speech.
The event is expected to be rescheduled for a later date, the organization said.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 11:38 AM.
