SMYRNA, Del. (Gray News) – Three Delaware elementary school employees are facing charges after police say they neglected and abused special needs children in their classroom.

According to the Smyrna Police Departmentthe investigation began in February and ended with three women arrested this week.

Police said Smyrna School District employees had a “pattern of disturbing behavior in a special needs classroom.” This included throwing objects at the students, yelling at them and yelling at them, police said.

One of the suspects, 31-year-old Makayla Lomax, is also accused of punching a student in the face and dousing the student with a water bottle as a form of discipline.

Police said the other two suspects, Marissa Johnson, 26, and Morgan Donahue, 21, once fed hot sauce and hot Takis — the spicy tortilla chip snack — to a student with special needs who had a known digestive disability.

All three women are charged with various counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Lomax is also charged with third-degree child abuse for allegedly hitting the student and dousing him with water.

Smyrna School District said in a statement on Wednesday that the three women “have not been in the presence of our students since the district was made aware of the alleged wrongdoing” and reported the allegations to the Division of Family Services and law enforcement.

“Student safety is of paramount importance to the Smyrna School District,” the district wrote. “We will continue to evaluate and improve all aspects of school safety. We will also continue to support our school community during this difficult time.”

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