A Texas substitute teacher has been barred from the elementary school where she worked after allegedly duct-taping shut the mouths of 10 fifth-graders on Thursday, according to multiple news reports.
The teacher was substituting for a fifth-grade class at Maxdale Elementary School in Killeen, Texas, according to local TV station KCEN. The teacher, whose name has not been released, was removed from school grounds following the incident.
Calls by PEOPLE to the Killeen Independant School District were not returned on Friday.
As a result of the teacher’s alleged actions, three additional students put duct-tape on their own mouths, ABC News reports.
One of the students told his mother that when he took the tape off his mouth, the teacher allegedly put a piece on again, according to the Killeen Daily Herald.
All 13 students were taken to the nurse but were uninjured and went back to class, the Daily Herald reports. The incident lasted at least 15 minutes, according to one student.
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In a statement, district spokesman Terry Abbott called the substitute teacher’s alleged actions “outrageous and unconscionable behavior,” KCEN reports.
Abbott said school officials “don’t know why she did it at this point,” according to ABC News.
It is also unclear whether police are investigating, but child protective services has been notified, ABC News reports.
The substitute teacher had been with the district since January 2016, Abbott said.
“The leadership of Maxdale Elementary School and the Killeen Independent School District are deeply saddened by this event,” he said, according to ABC News. “The principal has informed parents and has reassured parents that the staff will continue to work hard to make sure every child at the campus is absolutely safe every day.”