What started as an ordinary Tuesday afternoon at South Shore High School turned tense in a hurry when mace was released inside the building, sending students and staff scrambling and leaving eight people headed to local hospitals.
Paramedics treated multiple people at the scene and transported eight individuals to area hospitals. According to officials, five of those patients later refused further treatment. Authorities have not yet said how many of the affected were students versus school employees, or why the chemical irritant was deployed in the first place.
According to NBC Chicago, the Chicago Fire Department said paramedics were called to the school after reports of people being sickened by mace. NBC reported there was no immediate word on the conditions of those transported.
Policy and discipline
The Chicago Board of Education's student code of conduct explicitly lists "Mace/Pepper spray" among prohibited objects, according to the board's public agenda documents. Possession or use of such items can result in disciplinary action under district rules. Officials have not said whether any disciplinary steps are being considered in this case or if a police investigation will follow.
Not the first time
This is not the only recent school incident involving mace in Chicago. On Jan. 27, Fox 32 Chicago reported that mace was sprayed inside a South Side elementary school, leading to several people being hospitalized.
Hoodline will update this report as Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Fire Department, or police release more details about what happened and who was affected. At press time, officials had not released additional information.
