Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

41 Taken To Hospitals After Pepper Spray Incident At Highlands Middle School

First responders are pictured Friday at Highlands Middle School.
News4Jax
First responders are pictured Friday at Highlands Middle School where a pepper spray incident has been reported.

Firefighters responding to a mass casualty event at Highlands Middle School on Friday afternoon took 41  seventh-grade students suffering effects from pepper spray to area hospitals, according to Duval County Public Schools.

The incident happened in the gym during a fifth-period physical education class. Teachers and staff immediately evacuated from the gym to the football field, according to WJCT News partner News4Jax.

“I was coughing a lot ... it was very hard to breathe,” one student who was treated at the hospital and quickly released told News4Jax.

Sky 4 aerials over the school about 2:15 p.m. showed dozens of students in bleachers on the athletic field and the several rescue vehicles, fire engines and police vehicles at the school. Within 30 minutes, it appeared students were being led back into the building.

“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,” parents were told in a robocall. “We will inform you if your student is safely in class or if he or she is getting medical attention.”

The source of the pepper spray was still under investigation, although a student told News4Jax that it was sprayed from the bottom of the bleachers in the gym.

News4Jax is actively updating this story at this webpage.