Updated at 6:20 p.m.: Revised to include a statement from Irving ISD.

A message tweeted from the account of an Irving ISD educator on Saturday accused a Florida school shooting survivor of being a "crisis actor."

But the district official who owns the account, math coordinator Julie Merrill, denies writing the tweet and said she doesn't know who did. She said Sunday that she had taken down her Twitter account.

The controversial tweet was a reply to David Hogg, a 17-year-old student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who has become an outspoken advocate for stronger gun laws and a target of conspiracy theories. David and his sister were at school when a former student killed 17 people on Valentine's Day. Hogg's mother, an elementary school teacher, has also talked to reporters about the teens' ordeal.

"Let's make a deal DO NOT come to Florida for spring break unless gun legislation is passed," Hogg tweeted Saturday from his verified Twitter account. "These politions [sic] won't listen to us so maybe the'll [sic] listen to the billion dollar tourism industry in FL. #neveragain."

A few hours later, a tweet was posted on Merrill's account in response: "Crisis actor. Don't be fooled. Have you seen the laughing selfies with all the actors right before going in front of the press?"

The post appears to be referring to photos circulating on social media that show Hogg and other students smiling and posing for a picture before a media appearance.

Merrill said she tweeted an explanation denying she wrote the message before deactivating her account.

"Evidently, when I clicked a link to read a post, somehow a tweet got reposted as me," she wrote from the now-deleted account. "I did not post anything about the recent tragedy. I am devastated by that awful incident. To make sure nothing else gets tweeted by a fake me, I'm pulling my account down."

Merrill said on Sunday that she doesn't know how the tweet under her name came to be. She said she had gone to a website to read a story related to the shooting.

The post was not labeled as a "retweet," which means it came directly from her account.

"I did not tweet something like that," she said. "Oh, my gosh."

She said that she didn't know whether or not Hogg is an actor pretending to a survivor.

"I have no idea," Merrill said. "I have seen different posts about it. I have no idea if it's true or not. You know how everything you read on the web, you take it with a grain of salt."

She added: "How would I have any knowledge of that? I mean, I don't know him. He could have been a victim going to that school, too. I have no idea."

When told that Hogg's mother had talked to reporters and that he had been smeared by conspiracy theorists, Merrill reacted with sympathy.

"That's even worse," she said. "He's a victim, too. ...There are lots and lots of stories out there."

Merrill's posts are no longer visible, but a review of her Twitter account before it went offline showed recent tweets focused primarily on education articles and her work.

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Other Twitter users slammed Merrill and tagged Irving ISD in their complaints.

"I don't know if she should be fired but the school might want to at least discuss with her if she believes in school shootings and their victims," wrote Sarah Colonna, a comedian and author.

She’s a teacher. She teaches kids. I don’t know if she should be fired but the school might want to at least discuss with her if she believes in school shootings and their victims. — Sarah Colonna (@sarahcolonna) February 25, 2018

That is a gross thing to say about a kid who is a student at a school that just got shot up. According to his parents, his principal, his district superintendent. Why would you spread these lies? — Melina Patterson (@melinaapatters) February 25, 2018

It surprises me that people wouldn't figure out that if a faker was posing as a Douglas student, the school itself would issue a statement that the faker was not affiliated with the school. That a teacher would not understand this is bizarre. — Karen D (@karesf) February 25, 2018

Merrill said she hadn't been contacted by Irving ISD officials as of early Sunday afternoon. Irving ISD spokeswoman Tierney Tinnin said in a written statement that the district was aware of the post and would be conducting an inquiry.

"Irving ISD is aware of the Twitter post sent Saturday that has been attributed to a District employee and will conduct an inquiry regarding this matter." --Tierney Tinnin, Irving ISD Communications — Irving ISD (@IrvingISD) February 26, 2018

The episode shows yet again how pervasive conspiracy theories are and how quickly they spread on social media, where innuendo is often traded as fact.

Hogg stepped into the national spotlight when he did an interview with CNN. He gripped a microphone and asked politicians to do something to stop massacres.

"We're children," he said. "You guys, like, are the adults. You need to take some action."

Powerful plea from a student who survived the Parkland shooting, David Hogg: “Please! We are children. You guys are, like...the adults. Take action, work together, come over your politics, and get something done.” pic.twitter.com/UcTNungORp — Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) February 15, 2018

Since then, some have speculated that Hogg and schoolmates are crisis actors paid to advance an anti-gun agenda. People attributing malicious motives to the teen include those who have latched onto the fact that Hogg's father is a former FBI agent. The agency has been condemned for failing to follow up on a tip about the shooter.

Rebecca Boldrick, Hogg's mother, told The Washington Post that her husband retired from the FBI in 2016 because he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease, which the family had previously kept private because Hogg's father was embarrassed.

Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, was among the people who "liked" a tweet criticizing Hogg, according to The Post.

A conspiracy theory about the teen rose to YouTube's "trending" list of videos and was viewed more than 200,000 times before the company pulled it, according to The New York Times.

And so Hogg went on CNN again and denied that he was anything other than a survivor.

"I'm not a crisis actor," Hogg told CNN host Anderson Cooper. "I'm someone who had to witness this and live through this, and I continue to be having to do that."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who's been scorned by some students for defending political contributions from the National Rifle Association, also defended Hogg.

"Claiming some of the students on tv after #Parkland are actors is the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency," he tweeted last week.