A Virginia elementary school photographer reportedly lost her job after being accused of making improper remarks to young students, including allegedly asking one boy, “Can I eat your soul?” 

The principal of Chittum Elementary School in Chesapeake, Bridget Outlaw, said in an email to parents last week that a photographer hired to take school pictures was escorted off campus for making “inappropriate comments” to students, WTKR reported. The photographer, who was not named by school or company officials, was employed by Lifetouch, a family and school photography service owned by Shutterfly. 

In an interview, parent Rachel Fjeld told WTKR that her son was sitting to have his school picture taken when the photographer allegedly asked him, “Can I steal your identity?” and “Can I eat your soul?” 

“You can say all the things you want to say about good vs. evil, God vs. the devil, or demons or whatever, but at the end of the day what was said was not funny, and it wasn’t OK. It was a child in an uncomfortable situation,” Fjeld said. “I know people are trying to say, ‘Oh she’s just joking. It was just funny,’ but it’s not funny. That’s not funny. And what that doesn’t do is put any child at ease, it just scares them.”

Once the comments were reported, school administration “immediately addressed the issue, and this individual was escorted off of school property,” Outlaw said in an email to the school community last week, according to the local station. “Parents of students who reported the concern were notified.”

“We want to commend our students for quickly reporting the incident,” Outlaw said. “We are thankful that our message of ‘see something, say something’ was effectively used in this situation.”

On Friday, a Shutterfly spokesperson told WTKR that the photographer involved in the Chittum Elementary incident was no longer employed as a photographer by Lifetouch and an internal investigation is underway.