By Terry Miller
Monrovia Firefighters evacuated buildings at Canyon High School as a precaution after some initially unknown substance caused students’ eyes to water in a chemistry lab on Monday afternoon. Monrovia Police and fire responded to the afternoon call and evacuated the entire school and nearby Education Center as a precaution. Roads to the school were all blocked off by Monrovia PD. Eventually the Fire Dept. determined the irritant to be Pepper Spray, according to Katherine Thorossian, Superintendent of Schools in Monrovia. Two students, a boy and a girl were responsible for bringing the pepper spray to school and subsequently releasing some of the irritant in class. Thorossian said those responsible for the incident will be dealt with according to school policy.
Three students were transported to hospital as a precautionary measure after they had difficulty breathing. Those students were later released after being treated for contact with the Pepper Spray .
Monrovia issued a Nixel alert and anxious parents rushed to the school to retrieve their loved ones.
Meanwhile scanner traffic indicated that 7 students were to be treated by paramedics for minor eye irritations Most students bussed home or parents picked up children at 1:30 PM. By 2:30 all units were cleared from the school according to scanner traffic.
California law states that if you are 18 or over and have not been convicted of a felony or assault, any pepper spray is legal to ship/use/carry in the state of California.
