8 Students, 1 Teacher Taken To Hospital After Pepper Spray Discharged In School

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ)--Some scary moments at a Baltimore county school this morning.

A student brings pepper spray to school, shortly afterwards several students end up in the hospital.

WJZ's Gigi Barnett has the latest.

More than two dozen students and teachers blasted with a can of pepper spray at Deep Creek Middle in Essex, Baltimore County.

"Somebody came out with a can of pepper spray and sprayed a whole bunch of people," said one student.

Police and firefighters rushed to the school around 8:30 Friday morning. They found dozens of students trying to breathe, which prompted a hazmat investigation.

"We had probably 17 pieces of equipment ad 45 personnel on the scene for a couple of hours," said Bruce Schultz, Baltimore Co. Fire Director.

But medics had to rush eight students and one teacher for extra treatment.

Shortly after the pepper spray went off parents rushed to the school to pick up their children. Now they want to know, why would someone bring pepper spray to a middle school?

As parents were cleared to take students home, firefighters say whoever sprayed the pepper spray didn't do it on purpose.

"Our reports came back that this was an accidental discharge, it wasn't anything intentional," said Schultz.

Medics treated more than 25 people for injuries as a result of the pepper spray.