Tec Voc locked down after report of student pepper-sprayed

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This article was published 16/09/2015 (3703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A boy from Tec Voc High School was sent to hospital this morning after being sprayed with bear mace.

The incident put the school into a lockdown procedure for 45 minutes.

The student is recovering and is in stable condition. No arrests or charges were laid in the case by Wednesday afternoon, Winnipeg police said.

Radean Carter, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg School Division, said an unknown person entered the school and sprayed the student with bear mace. Video surveillance of the incident was turned over to police, she said.

The boy was sprayed near the front of the school by the main office, according to students outside Tec Voc.

Many students were waiting to be let back into the school Wednesday morning. When the school went into lockdown, those in classrooms and in the hallways were locked inside the building, while those still outside before classes started were locked out.

The lockdown was lifted at 9:45 a.m. Letters are being sent home to parents Wednesday detailing what happened and what steps to take if their children were affected by the bear mace. WSD Clinical Support Services will also be on hand to support students and staff.

Amanda Guevara, a post-high student at Tec Voc, was inside when the lockdown began. She said she heard the morning announcements being interrupted by the vice principal telling the announcer to put the school into lockdown.

“As soon as you walked out (in the hall), you got this burning feeling in your throat,” said Guevara.

A group of Grade 9 students reported hearing glass shattering and seeing a teacher holding up the victim. One of the students said he was told they needed to leave the school because there was a harmful chemical in the air.

The Grade 9 students said they were shocked by what was unfolding.

“It’s only our seventh day of school,” one student said.

Another incident involving a student being sprayed with bear mace happened at Tec Voc last year. The school was in lockdown for two hours.

Guevara said despite these incidents, she feels safe at Tec Voc and wants new students to feel the same way.

“They should know that they’re safe with the teachers, they’re safe for sure,” Guevara said. “The teachers handle everything pretty well and they keep you safe.”

jessica.botelho-urbanski@freepress.mb.ca