A pepper spray incident inside a classroom at Blanche Ely High School sent 12 students to the hospital, according to officials.
Pompano Beach Fire Rescue officials said crews responded around noon on Thursday after pepper spray was discharged during an argument between two students.
Twelve students were transported to Broward Health North, all in stable condition.
Students said a fight nearly broke out when one girl pulled out pepper spray.
“They was finna jump her so she pepper sprayed them,” one student said.
“I think she meant to aim for a girl specifically, but everybody got hit in the crossfire,” a second student said.
Other students described the aftermath.
“Some of them went to the cafeteria to get milk for they eyes and stuff,” said a third student.
“My face still burns a little bit ’cause I was there, my face still burns, but I’m good,” said a fourth.
The school briefly went into lockdown, but officials clarified it was unrelated to the pepper spray.
“Parents showed up and one of the parents was not following the direction of staff and tried to go on campus without permission, so they put the school on a brief lockdown while they dealt with that situation,” said Broward Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn.
Several students were left annoyed by the chaos on campus.
“I think it’s immature and very disrespectful to our learning environment because we’re trying to learn and get our education and graduate,” said a student.
“You’re coming here fighting on grounds, now I’m scared because now I feel like, ‘Oh, what if I’m gonna get attacked,’” said another.
Students said the tension between the two involved had been reaching a boiling point after a fight broke out between them in a field near the school, Wednesday.
In a video shared with 7News, there appeared to be at least three adults present at the time of that brawl.
District policy allows students to carry up to two ounces of pepper spray on campus, but they cannot remove it from their bags or use it.
“You need to talk to your parents, talk to your school administrators, talk to somebody on campus for help before you decide to take matters into your own hands,” Hepburn said. “This is an example of not talking to an adult, either your parents or school staff and taking matters into your own hands.”
Hepburn said the student who discharged the spray will face disciplinary action.
Officials said all the hospitalized students are doing OK.
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Source: wsvn
