'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A Halloween prank went awry for four staffers at a Mississippi daycare center, who got fired after a video showed them frightening children while wearing a mask resembling the one from the horror movie Scream, The New York Post reports.
The incident has spurred an investigation by law enforcement at the Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center, located in Hamilton, Mississippi.
In the video, an employee in a mask gets close to the petrified kids in the room and unleashes a terrifying roar.
While the kids are hysterically crying, the employee screams in front of their terrified faces. The frightened children then call out for their parents.
The Mississippi State Department of Health and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is exploring the possibility of filing criminal charges against the employees.
The video was posted by an employee at the Mississippi daycare centre
The video, documented on Tuesday, October 4, was posted on social media by an employee at the daycare center. The whistleblower defended her role in the incident after she reportedly received backlash for encouraging the behavior of her masked colleagues instead of ending the terrible ordeal suffered by the kids.
In a Facebook post, she alleged that she was propelled to record the disturbing antics of her colleagues after they scared the kids with a mask back in September.
She added that the intent behind filming the recent incident was to amass evidence against the employees at the daycare center and present it to the concerned authorities.
The statement read:
“I'm just now getting the proof I needed to help get those people out of that daycare and away from those children.”
She added:
"Once the cops go there, what are they going to do? Arrest without any proof. The cameras in that daycare do not record so there was no going back and checking."
The fired employee at the Mississippi daycare centre defends her actions
One of the daycare centre worker who was fired insisted that the prank was not intended to be malicious towards the kids, the Daily Mail reported.
In a Facebook video, the seemingly upset employee said that she had bought the mask to scare her colleagues but was asked to use it as a disciplinary tactic with the kids. She said:
“The teachers asked me if I would do it or if they could use (the mask) to get their class to listen or clean up. I’m not a child abuser.”
The employee posited that she only bought the mask to scare a coworker, but she did acknowledge that her actions were inappropriate.
“But what you all didn’t see was after I had left the room, I took it off and I went back into the classroom… and I said, "CeeCee got the monster. It’s not coming back.’ And they would hug me. I’ve known those kids their whole life. It wasn’t meant to harm anybody and it wasn’t ill-intentioned."
Daycare owner Sheila Sanders told the Mississippi Daily Journal that she does not condone the employees' actions. She added that disciplinary action was taken against the staffers involved in the incident.
