An Indian River County School District employee was reassigned after a video appeared to show him launching a large lizard from a metal tube with an air compressor at a high school campus, officials said.
School officials did not immediately know if the lizard was killed in the incident.
“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,” School District officials said in a statement. “We have taken immediate action to thoroughly investigate this situation.”
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office was also investigating the incident, sheriff’s officials said.
School District of Indian River County Spokesperson Cristen Maddux said a parent notified school officials of the YouTube video on Thursday morning. Maddux said the incident appeared to take place at Sebastian River High School, though the day and time were unclear.
The video, titled “Sebastian River High School Teacher Kills Reptile Live On Camera With Students,” was posted on Thursday to YouTube.
Maddux also could not confirm the employee’s identity, but said he had participated in the act while students watched. Several people could be heard laughing in the video as they recorded the incident on their cell phones.
Maddux said the employee was reassigned to another duty and is no longer at Sebastian River High School pending the outcome of the investigation.
“We don’t tolerate any type of animal abuse,” Maddux said. “This will be taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated.”
No further details were immediately available.
