Pepper spray released at Smithfield-Selma High School in Johnston County; students injured

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (WTVD) -- Multiple students were injured at Smithfield-Selma High School due to pepper spray being released.

It happened before noon inside a classroom at the high school. Investigators have not yet said if the pepper spray was released on purpose or by accident.

First responders arrived quickly to treat students suffering from the effects of the spray. Some of those students were even loaded onto stretchers and taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals.

The number of students exposed to the pepper spray remains unclear.

The class where the pepper spray was released was evacuated, but no other classes had to be moved.

It came as quite the surprise to some students at the school.

"I was in the gym and they had the door cracked open and I then I looked over and I'm like, 'Oh there's some police people and ambulance,'" freshman Michelle Buckett said.

Parents were also confused about the whole thing.

"I was really in the blind," Regina Morris said.

Morris said she was worried about her son's safety and frustrated with how pepper spray got into the school in the first place.

"Can't the detector pick it up? It's like one of the ones at the airport. Like I was told when you walk through you can see items. It's not just a metal detector. You can see if someone has a gun, a weapon, or whatever," she said.

Smithfield-Selma High School is part of Johnston County Public Schools. It is located near the intersection of M Durwood Stephenson Parkway and Buffalo Road.