Two Gwinnett County high school students are facing criminal charges after a Monday morning pepper spray incident that left nearly a dozen classmates needing medical attention.
Gwinnett County fire spokesman Lt. Jerrod Barrett said firefighters responded to Snellville’s Shiloh High School at about 10:30 a.m. after being alerted that “some sort of irritant was released inside one of the classrooms and caused many students to become exposed and start coughing.” The affected room and others on the same hallway were evacuated while a hazmat team worked to determine what was causing the reaction.
It was ultimately discovered to be pepper spray, Barrett said, and 11 of the 28 students in the affected room had to be treated before going back to class. All 28 of the students were “assessed,” Barrett said.
Gwinnett County Public Schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said two students were charged in connection with the incident.
“Once the investigation was completed, we had two students who were charged criminally with possession of a weapon and disruption of a school,” Roach said in an email. “They also will face disciplinary action.”
The students’ names were not immediately available, nor were further details about the incident.
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