A California teacher has reportedly been arrested after a video of her appearing to forcibly cut a student’s hair during class while belting out the national anthem went viral.

Margaret Gieszinger, a science teacher at the University Preparatory High School in Visalia, was reportedly arrested on the suspicion of felony child endangerment on Wednesday, College of the Sequoias Police Chief Kevin Mizner told the Visalia Times Delta.

ADVERTISEMENT

The police were responding to reports of endangerment involving Gieszinger and a "pair of scissors," Mizner said.

Her arrest came shortly after videos were uploaded to social media on Wednesday showing her appearing to forcibly cut off portions of a student’s hair while loudly singing the national anthem.

After the student gets up and attempts to walk back to his desk, Gieszinger can be seen in the video telling him he is “not done” and motions for him to return to her.

She then calls on other students before walking up to a female student, whose hair she also grabs, appearing to attempt to snip it as well.

Shortly after the girl pulls away, other students began to scream and bolt out of the classroom. And as the students ran out, Gieszinger can be seen continuing to loudly sing the national anthem.

Principal Eric Thiessen told the local paper that “all students are safe” on Wednesday afternoon.

One of Gieszinger's students, Lilli Gates, also told the newspaper that the incident was unusual for her teacher.

"When everything was going on I was terrified, and I so badly wanted to blame her. I was scared she was going to come back," Gates said.

"What she did to my classmates and I is inexcusable. I am not trying to make excuses for her, I simply ask everyone to reconsider how they view her,” she continued. “She is a loving and kind lady. She is usually all smiles and laughs. This is not the Miss G. we know and love."

Sara Rocha, a parent of a student at the school, told the paper that trouble began in the class on Monday after a test went missing. Rocha told the paper that Gieszinger blamed the students for the incident.

She said the teacher also made a student cry during Monday’s incident and said the students in the class had “asked for help” but that they “were told they had to go back to class."

"We have to take it seriously when [students] come to us," said Rocha, who teaches at a nearby elementary school. "We absolutely need to listen to kids. This breaks my heart."

"I've always felt safe at UPHS," Rocha added. "But the fact kids asked for help and didn't get it makes me really sad."

A spokesman for the Tulare County Office of Education, which oversees the school, told the paper it is also investigating the incident.

"The staff at University Preparatory High School and the administration at the Tulare County Office of Education are deeply concerned for the students who were subjected to the disturbing behavior in Margaret Gieszinger’s class yesterday morning," Jim Vidak, superintendent of Tulare County schools, said in a statement to the paper.

"To support all students on the UPHS campus today, we have sent top counselors from our mental health services program. They will continue to be available to the students as long as necessary,” he added.