Five former daycare employees have been arrested and charged after viral videos show them using scary Halloween masks to frighten a classroom of young children.

Four of the individuals are facing felony child abuse charges while the fifth is facing a misdemeanor count of simple assault against a minor and another misdemeanor count of failure to report abuse as a mandated reporter. The former employees include Sierra McCandless, 21; Oci-Anna Kilburn, 28; Jennifer Newman, 25; Misty Shyenne Mills, 28, and Traci Hutson, 44.

The now-viral videos surfaced online in early October and show a childcare worker at Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton, Mississippi, chasing after the children and scaring them. One of the charged employees was wearing a scary mask inspired by the popular Halloween film “Scream.” In one of the videos, a daycare worker can be heard yelling at children that did not “act good“ or “clean up” after themselves.

The shocking footage shows the children visibly upset as they screamed and tried to run away from the daycare workers. Some of the children scream in terror as the masked daycare employee gets closer to them. In some instances, the daycare worker is inches away from the children's faces as she yells at them.

In a news release by Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Cook, the sheriff details, “They can’t use corporal punishment, so we think they were using the mask to try to scare the kids into doing what they were supposed to be doing.”

Parents of the children in the daycare class are understandably shocked and upset after they found out their children were victims of the daycare workers’ behavior. One parent who had a two-year-old in the class shared that her son is still frightened from the incident and continues to show signs of trauma. “Whether they had a mask on or a mask off, their behavior was unacceptable. My blood pressure was raised. It broke my heart for my child. I was angry,” the parent shared.

The owner of the daycare, Sheila Sanders, has not publicly commented on her employees’ actions or the charges. However, she did share with the Monroe Journal that she was not aware that the videos existed or that they had been filmed as early as September. Sanders added, "I contacted my licensure, and she has gotten involved. The people that did those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and wasn’t aware they were doing that. I don’t condone that and never have. I just want to say it’s been taken care of."

While the nation has expressed outrage at the shocking footage, residents throughout the small-town community of Hamilton express their support for Sanders and the daycare overall. One resident shared with the Monroe Journal, “This place is pretty important for Hamilton because it’s a small town and there’s not really another childcare facility close. A lot of people are saying, ‘Shut it down. Shut it down,’ but I don’t think they’re thinking about the implications that that might have. If there was a daycare next door, I would still bring my kids here.”

The Monroe County Sheriff's Department shared that the felony charges will be brought before a grand jury where it will be decided whether or not there is enough evidence to proceed with charges against these former daycare employees.