9 Hospitalized from Pepper Spray in School: Police

ESSEX, MD - Police say nine people were taken to area hospitals and a middle school was evacuated Friday morning because a student accidentally discharged pepper spray.

At 8:32 a.m., Deep Creek Middle School in Essex was evacuated for strange odor, which officials traced to a small over-the-counter container of pepper spray, police reported.

Authorities said eight students and one teacher were hospitalized, and many others were medically evaluated at the scene.

The 12-year-old girl who brought the pepper spray to school discharged it by accident, according to Baltimore County police.

The container was taken into evidence by police, who said charges against the seventh grader depend upon the outcome of their investigation.

By 9:45 a.m., police said students were being allowed back into the school in the 1000 block of South Marlyn Avenue.

Officials asked parents coming to the school to report to the tennis courts.

Editor’s Note: The number of people taken to area hospitals fluctuated as news of the story broke and police worked to get official numbers. The latest update indicates nine people were transported.