Bloomfield officials are conducting an investigation after racist messages were sent to students and community members.
The town of Bloomfield said they were made aware of racist and derogatory text messages that were sent to members of the community.
"The town of Bloomfield and Bloomfield Board of Education stand united in condemning any and all forms of racism, prejudice or hate within our community," town officials said in a statement.
Officials said they are deeply disturbed by the messages which involve "racially offensive language." They say people across the country have received these messages.
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"Racist language, behavior and rhetoric have no place in Bloomfield, and we are committed to ensuring that every member of our community feels safe, valued and respected," the statement reads.
Federal authorities are investigating a number of cases involving racist text messages sent to students and others across the country. The FBI said the messages tell people they've been "selected" to pick cotton "at the nearest plantation."
The timing comes on the heels of the presidential election.
“It touches a lot of people, but it's a personalized hate message that we really haven't seen in this widespread way that we're currently witnessing," former Fairfield police chief Gary MacNamara said.
Kenneth Gray, a former FBI special agent and a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven said the agency will be investigating thoroughly.
"The FBI will have to be working with the internet providers to try to identify the IP address from which this hateful message was sent," Gray said.
He said many of these messages are coming from phone numbers that are spoofed.
“It used a technique to hide the identity, hide the location where it was coming from," Gray said.
He's urging people to stay vigilant getting any messages of their cell phone.
The police department and town officials are actively investigating and said they're working with local, state and federal authorities.
"I join Bloomfield leaders in condemning these disturbing racist messages. There is zero place in Connecticut for this kind of hate," Attorney General William Tong said.
