Pepper spraying causes evacuation

Highland High School's 1,788 students were evacuated Wednesday morning after someone sprayed pepper spray in a classroom.

One female student was treated by emergency personnel for eye irritation, said Dennis McKone, Salt Lake City Fire Department's administrative assistant to the chief.

Firefighters were summoned to the home of the Rams at 11:15 a.m. when a small amount of the spray was discharged in Room 308.

The school had evacuated in about three minutes, which McKone called an excellent job.

Assistant principal Scott Richard Nelson said he knows who had the pepper spray when it was discharged, but that student may not be the spray's owner.

Though pepper spray isn't expressly forbidden in the student handbook for the Salt Lake City School District, Nelson said substances such as pepper spray are not appropriate for campus and some form of punishment will be carried out.