JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A total of 41 students were treated after an incident involving pepper spray a Highlands Middle School Friday afternoon, according to a Duval County Public School spokesperson.
Students were taken to 5 area hospitals, according to DCPS.
According to the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department, 19 students were taken to UF Health, 8 were taken to UF Health North, 6 were taken to Memorial, 5 to Baptist North and 3 to Normandy Park.
43 JFRD personnel responded to the scene at 1:19 p.m.
A mother told Action News Jax her daughter called her and said they were inside the gymnasium and there was “smoke or dust in the air” which apparently caused children to cough.
Between 60-80 students were in the gym when the pepper-spray canister went off.
According to DCPS, they will be reviewing this situation with the district to see what they could be doing better next time.
Persons of interest (students) will be interviewed on Monday. Some of the students suspected were also exposed, treated and release to their parents, according to school district police.
STATEMENT TO PARENTS FROM HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL:
I’m calling to inform you that we had a pepper spray event today at school that impacted a large group of students and required a significant response of police and rescue personnel.
It appears that pepper spray was dispersed in the gym during seventh grade PE class. Teachers and staff immediately evacuated from the gym, to the football field.
Law enforcement and rescue personnel were called in to help control the situation and bring care to those students affected by the spray. We are in the process of reaching out personally to all families of students who appear to be suffering from any of the effects of the spray. Many are being transported to hospitals. Again, we are working to contact parents of those students directly.
As you know, pepper spray is a prohibited item and we will investigate the cause of this incident and apply the student code of conduct as appropriate. For now, we are returning to school as normal while contacting families and providing care to affected students.
If your child has seventh grade physical education during 5th period, please reach out to the school, and we will inform you if your student is safely in class or if he or she is getting medical attention. Again, if your child has seventh grade physical education during __ period, please reach out to the school if we haven’t connected with you already.
I’m sorry that our students had to endure this disruption today, and as with any incident like this, I want to make sure that you are aware. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or input about anything having to do with your child’s experience here at Highlands Middle.
A mom just told me that her daughter called her saying she was in the school’s gym and that kids were around her coughing. Her daughter says there’s what appears to be gas in the air. Mom adds that she hasn’t received a notice from school. @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/KH7JVv7D2M
— Meghan Moriarty (@MeghanANjax) February 28, 2020
Dad tells me his daughter was taken UF Health after being exposed to pepper spray. He says she called him terrified. He ran around back and found her being taken away in an ambulance @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/6hA6HR73hY
— Meghan Moriarty (@MeghanANjax) February 28, 2020
I’ve been Briefed by our first responders on a pepper spray incident at Highlands Middle School. They are transporting those students effected to hospitals. Will continue to monitor and provide updates as we have them.
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) February 28, 2020
This story is developing. This article will be updated when more information becomes available.
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