GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Local and federal authorities on Thursday identified a 13-year-old Memphis girl believed to be involved in the March 31 Zoom bombing of a University of Florida Student Government meeting.

No charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing, UF Police Chief Linda Stump-Kurnick said.

Shortly after the incident, UPD, working with UF Information Technology, reached out to the FBI Jacksonville – Gainesville Resident Agency for assistance. Using information provided by UPD and UFIT, the FBI followed a lead to Tennessee, where FBI agents there identified the girl, who said the incident was meant to be a joke.

“This is absolutely not a joke,” Stump-Kurnick said. “We take these matters very seriously, and we will pursue any and all leads to help ensure anyone involved in incidents like this is held accountable.”

The incident happened during a virtual Student Government Senate meeting. The public meeting was suddenly interrupted by pornographic images, and swastikas and racial slurs drawn and written on a screenshare presentation.  The hackers also made death threats against a Student Government member. Student senators quickly ended the meeting.

UF President Kent Fuchs tweeted shortly after the meeting to condemn the messages of hate and called on UFIT and UPD to investigate.

The uncertainty surrounding #COVID19 does not stop criminals from exploiting this public health situation. Everyone receiving economic stimulus payments related to the ongoing #COVID19 pandemic is at risk of being targeted by scammers.

Be wary of suspicious emails and phone calls. Do not give out your personal information, even if someone claims it’s necessary. The IRS will deposit your check into the direct deposit account you previously provided on your tax return or send you a paper check. The IRS will not call and ask you to verify your payment details.

As Florida’s confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to soar, Alachua County’s cases are slowly inching toward 100. 

As of this morning, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of 93 cases in the county. The latest case is a 49-year-old female Florida resident, according to a daily report from the department. No new positive cases at UF were reported today. 

Florida’s cases reached 8,010 this morning, with 7,717 being state residents. Twenty-seven new deaths were also reported across 12 different counties.

The White House coronavirus task force on Tuesday pleaded with Americans to abide by the administration’s extended social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of coronavirus as a somber President Trump told Americans to brace for “a very painful two weeks” and warned of thousands of more virus-related deaths.

“The surge is coming, and it’s coming pretty strong,” the president said in the White House briefing room in a lengthy press conference that lasted more than two hours.

The extension of the social distancing guidelines comes after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other public health officials on the White House coronavirus task force ominously warned that even if the U.S. were to continue to do what it was doing — keeping the economy closed and most Americans in their homes — the coronavirus could still leave 100,000 to 240,000 people in the United States dead and millions infected.

Without any measures in place to mitigate the contagion’s spread, those projections jump to between 1.5 and 2.2 million deaths from COVID-19.