Sacramento student attacked with pepper spray in classroom; suspects not from school
A group of people on Thursday entered a high school campus in Sacramento and attacked a student inside a classroom using pepper spray, injuring the girl and a staff member, authorities said.
The attack occurred about 2:20 p.m. at John F. Kennedy High School on Gloria Drive in the Greenhaven neighborhood, just west of Interstate 5.
As many as six people who are not students at the high school -- most if not all of them were adults -- were among the group who entered the campus without permission and went to the classroom, said Al Goldberg, a spokesman for the Sacramento City Unified School District.
At least two of the people in the group entered the classroom and began attacking the student, using pepper spray,” Goldberg said in a news release. He said one staff member was injured by the pepper spray while trying to help the girl and stop the attack.
The high school was immediately placed on lockdown and police were called. School officials also called for medics. The student who was attacked received medical treatment at the scene.
Goldberg said the campus lockdown was lifted after police officers cleared the scene. Students were dismissed for the day about 3:15 p.m.
School staff members detained two of the suspected attackers until they were turned over to police. Goldberg said officers were looking for the others.
The Sacramento Police Department confirmed that the fight occurred after a group of people who were not students entered the Kennedy High campus.
Police said “pepper spray or a similar chemical agent” was sprayed during the fight affecting multiple people. The Police Department emphasized that the details about the incident were preliminary information gathered in the investigation, so far.
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 7:10 PM.
