FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo released a statement following reports of customers receiving free online tickets Monday.

Officials with the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo said Tuesday it was a “faulty promotional code” that caused the free tickets to be distributed. After a thorough review, officials said there was no security breach on the website, and any personal information shared through the zoo’s website is secure.

A post on the zoo’s website Monday night said:

“Earlier tonight, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s website was hacked resulting in the false sale of “free” tickets. As one of only a handful of nonprofit zoos in the United States that does not receive government funding, we rely heavily on admission sales to provide for the 1,600 animals in our care. All tickets given away for “free” tonight are not valid and cannot be used to visit the Zoo. We are disappointed that this happened and we apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your understanding and continued support of the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.”

Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo

“We are still working through the details of how this incident transpired and will be putting
processes in place to avoid future issues,” the zoo said Tuesday.

Zoo officials said all orders made between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday night would be canceled, and anyone who paid for anything on the website in that time frame would get a refund.

Here’s the full statement the zoo sent out Tuesday: