The 29-year-old parent of a Georgia Elementary School student, Shaquayle Cuyler, was arrested after allegedly discharging pepper spray on a school bus.
Glynn County Schools Police Chief Rod Ellis told The Brunswick News that the mother stormed a public school bus that carries two dozen elementary students from Goodyear Elementary School and released a canister of pepper spray inside the school bus.
Glynn County Schools spokesperson, Brittany Tate said in a statement that the driver and the school monitor were hospitalized after the school bus was vacated in Brunswich, a small town along the state's southeast coast approximately seventy miles north of Jacksonville, Florida.
Authorities didn't know why Cuyler sprayed the chemical. She was now under Glynn County Detention Center. According to the Glynn County Sheriff's Office, the school police charged her with three counts of battery, child cruelty, consciously disrupting the school bus operation, criminal trespass, and reckless conduct.
Children exposed to chemical
The twenty-four elementary students were all examined and were medically cared for by the county fire-rescue EMTs at the scene where the incident happened. It occurred outside the Brunswick Commons, a community in Brunswick. On the other hand, both the bus driver and bus monitor were taken to Southeast Georgia Health System's Brunswick Hospital for additional remedy.
Jail records show that her bail was set at $6,955. She is now facing multiple charges as she was also held Tuesday without both on child cruelty.
Pepper Spray is a type of chemical irritant that targets the inflammatory system. People who are exposed to such chemicals may experience difficulty breathing, constant cough, and eye irritation. According to Purvi S. Parikh, an immunologist who specializes in pediatric health at New York University Langone Health, chemicals are harmful and bring no good to the eyes, nose, or even lungs. Such is more harmful to children as their organs are still developing and are not completely developed. Chemicals have the potential to bring long-term effects on kids especially if they are exposed to them.
Certain children who were exposed to chemicals have a high chance to develop neurological effects such as nerve or brain damage. They may also have lung problems from the chemical exposure namely asthma or allergies if the chemical enters the upper respiratory tract of the child.
Parikh said that pepper spray hasn't been studied that much, thus, there might be other effects that healthcare providers don't even know about. Also, it is not a common situation where people would expose chemicals to kids or spray chemicals on kids, per North Carolina Health News.
An argument that leads to spraying pepper spray
At approximately around 7 in the morning, Cuyler, enter the bus as it was stopped outside Brunswick Commons to pick up several students. Ellis said that it is unlawful to step onto a public school bus without any proper permission.
Basically, the 29-year-old woman had a disagreement with the bus driver. She aimed the canister of pepper spray at the bus driver and the bus monitor as they were trying to oust Cuyler from the bus. NBC News reported that the parent had an argument with the driver since Friday and confronted him that morning when she discharge the chemicals.
Related Article : Children's Products Contain Harmful Chemicals Associated with Cancer, Hormone Disruption
