Destiny Development Center in Inglewood, California, is facing serious backlash after a daycare worker was caught on video throwing a shoe at a 5-year-old Black child with special needs. This disturbing incident occurred on January 16, after which the worker was terminated.
The horrifying incident was captured on the daycare’s surveillance cameras, which was later shared by local news stations. The footage showed a white daycare worker removing her shoe and throwing it across the room, as the child, named Beautiful, appeared to be crawling away from her sleeping mat.
In the video, it’s clearly visible that the worker deliberately aimed the shoe toward the child, which hit the 5-year-old in the ear. Beautiful was then heard screaming and crying in pain, which prompted the worker to walk over and hug her.
She can be heard saying, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that”, despite the video appearing to show a deliberate throw. Further, what shocked viewers even more was the reaction of two other daycare employees who were also in the room.
NEW: Daycare worker caught on camera removing her shoe and chucking it at a 5-year-old special needs girl while other employees appear to laugh.
The mother of the girl is demanding action after she was hit with a shoe at the Los Angeles daycare.
Destiny Development Center… pic.twitter.com/PTbszE0USi
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 5, 2026
Instead of helping the child or correcting the other worker who threw the shoe, the two employees were seen laughing as Beautiful cried. This whole incident initially led to the suspension of all three employees.
However, after the daycare director and owner, Danielle Williams, reviewed the video again, all three employees were fired. But now, despite Williams’ action, Beautiful’s mother, Michelea Jones, said firing the workers is not enough.
According to KTLA 5, Jones said she wants all three employees arrested. Jones said, “Like anybody else who laughs at child abuse, you need to be in jail. That’s what I want. Justice.”
The mother of the 5-year-old child said that she trusted the daycare center for three years, which is why she enrolled Beautiful and another child there, believing her children were safe.
Alongside Jones, even Beautiful’s aunt, Kira Townsend, opened up about the incident with local news stations and mentioned how they found out about the abuse from the child herself later that evening. That’s when the family filed a complaint and questioned why the daycare management did not know about the incident sooner.
“How do you have a business and you don’t review the footage? Why do we have to wait for my niece to come and tell us, ‘Hey, my teacher hit me in the ear with a shoe?’” Townsend asked. This led the daycare owner to speak out and strongly condemn the incident. Even netizens have shared their concern over the heartbreaking behavior.
The family of a 5-year-old Black child says an Inglewood daycare worker threw a shoe at their child, who has special needs, and that allegedly, no other staff intervened or reported it. The three workers seen in the video have since been fired. This behavior can NEVER be… pic.twitter.com/Fxhff6Uek4
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) February 6, 2026
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody’s child, and we don’t stand for it. We don’t agree with it.” Williams shared via Facebook. However, amid this controversy, the family revealed how the daycare was unhelpful at first, and refused to show the surveillance video for two weeks. This only added to their frustration and anger.
But eventually, Williams cooperated with Beautiful’s family and said protecting children has always been the center’s top priority. She said she was shocked by how the 5-year-old child was treated, and has therefore handed the video over to the state.
So far, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been investigating the case, but no charges have been filed against the three employees.
