I.S. 415 Evacuated After Pepper Spray Assault

Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts, located at 215 W. 114th St., was evacuated Tuesday after one student attacked another with pepper spray.

I.S. 415, which serves sixth though 12th graders, was emptied, “only because we wanted to make sure that it had nothing other than pepper in it,” according to school principal Herma Hall. Students and staff were allowed to re-enter the building after a hazardous materials team determined it was safe.

No one was “seriously injured,” Hall said, though three students and one guidance counselor were taken to the local hospital for observation. All three were released later on Tuesday.

“It’s an isolated incident. We’ve never had anyone or anything—we have very few major confrontations, or what have you,” Hall said.

Pepper spray, an agent that causes pain and tearing at the eyes, can be legally purchased only from licensed pharmacists or firearms dealers by those over 18 years of age. Those who have not purchased it legally can be charged with unlawful possession of a noxious material, though Hall said she was “unaware” of whether the student who discharged the spray was arrested.

But Hall said the student, whom she called “a young child who had some issues,” will certainly face disciplinary action within the school system. “That is based on our code of conduct. That’s not even something that we’d have to think about—it’s the Department of Education code of conduct,” Hall said.

Other teachers and administrators and students involved with the incident could not be reached for comment after business hours Tuesday.
—Daniel Amzallag