Twitter users were rightfully alarmed when tweets from Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa, Florida, spoke of a bomb threat in the Tampa International Airport.
"I have hidden a bomb in a package somewhere at the Tampa international airport," one tweet read. "Looking forward to seeing some minorities die."
According to WFLA, another tweet read: "EMERGENCY ALERT BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAD INBOUND TO TAMPA BAY AREA. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
The tweets began at about 4 a.m. this morning, February 21, and went out to 52,000 followers.
Mayor Buckhorn's twitter account had been hacked early Thursday morning with the hackers posting threats against Tampa International Airport, pornographic images and racist and sexist statements as if they were said by the mayor. The hackers claimed responsibility by tweeting: "Hacked by @MeeZoid @CxlvxnSwag @SheepKiller69 you can't touch US ####."
Ashley Bauman, Buckhorn's communications director, released the following statement:
"Earlier this morning we noticed someone hacked Mayor Buckhorn's twitter account, this was clearly not Mayor Buckhorn. Upon noticing the hack we immediately began investigating these reprehensible tweets. We will work with our Tampa Police Department as well as all investigators to figure out how this breach was made," Bauman told WFLA.
"We urge residents to change their passwords and continue to alert officials when they see an unlikely change in account activity. We are work working with law enforcement to investigate all threats made by this hack."
Mayor Buckhorn is on a hunting trip, so his staffers are working to close his social media account. The Tampa Police Department and TPA airport police claim there are no "known credible threats" to the airport despite the tweets.
"Tampa Police are investigating a hack to Mayor Bob Buckhorn's Twitter account. The Mayor is aware of the hack. TPD detectives are working to determine who is behind the despicable messages. There are no known credible threats," Tampa Police Department spokesman Steve Hegarty told WFLA.
Representatives for the Tampa International Airport echoed the police department in a tweet this morning:
"Airport Police are aware of hackers who made threats against the airport via the Tampa mayor's twitter account. Police do not believe the threats are credible but are taking appropriate action to ensure the safety of TPA. Operations for passengers are normal at this time."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
