A fight Thursday at Lake Worth Community High School on the East Coast of Florida led to the use of pepper spray, which sent 32 copies to local hospitals.
Palm Beach County fire rescuers told West Palm Beach’s WPBF-TV that the fight broke out at 12:30 p.m.
Neither fire officials nor the administrators of the Palm Beach School District said what inspired the melee, but a school spokesman told the Palm Beach Post that the school’s garrison police used pepper spray and no weapons were found.
Witnesses said the fight began two students in the school’s cafeteria and was irritated, causing the officers to initiate the spray.
“A lot of kids are coughing and even vomiting. It’s really bad. There’s a lot of screaming, kids jumping around, pushing each other, throwing food in the air, throwing food on the floor,” Junior Mercedes Escobar told WPALBEAL BEACH’s WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue transported all those who needed on-site care to the hospital and fire officers posted on X at about 3:11 p.m. to clear the scene.
School officials said students participating would be punished.
According to the Post, “I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that physical disputes are serious violations of the student code of conduct. The students involved are now facing disciplinary consequences. Fighting or any form of physical aggression is not tolerated in schools.”
