More than a month after the head of the U.S. Air Force Academy publicly admonished thousands of cadets and cadet candidates in the wake of racist messages discovered at a dorm housing prep school students, an investigation has revealed the apparent perpetrator was one of the students allegedly victimized by the incident.

In late September, five black cadet candidates reportedly found racist remarks written on dormitory message boards at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School, with at least one of the messages reading "go home n-----." The prep school trains aspiring young people to enter the actual Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Officials took the incident seriously and launched an investigation. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the academy's superintendent, also denounced the behavior in a firm speech to cadets and cadet candidates.

"That kind of behavior has no place at the prep school, it has no place at USAFA, and it has no place in the United States Air Force," Silveria said at the time. "You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being."

His comments went viral and were promptly applauded by many, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and military veteran.

This week, the academy confirmed to news outlets that the person responsible for the racist messages was one of the cadet candidates who allegedly had been victimized.

"We can confirm that one of the cadet candidates who was allegedly targeted by racist remarks written outside of their dorm room was actually responsible for the act. The individual admitted responsibility and this was validated by the investigation," the academy told The Associated Press in a statement.

The statement continued: "Racism has no place at the academy, in any shape or form."

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported the cadet candidate deemed responsible for the incident was not publicly identified, but is no longer enrolled at the school. The Gazette also reported that several unnamed sources told the paper the accused candidate "committed the act in a bizarre bid to get out of trouble he faced at the school for other misconduct."