High school students pepper-sprayed at anti-racism protest in California

(KTLA) – An anti-racism protest at Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino, California, turned unruly and led to a campus safety officer using pepper spray on students Tuesday, authorities said.

The protest, which began around 11:30 a.m., started peacefully, but got out of hand when a group of students “attempted to enter and disrupt” a teacher’s classroom, according to a statement released by the San Bernardino City Unified School District.

When that group of students refused repeated requests from school staff to return to class, the campus safety officer started to use pepper spray, officials said.

Video posted on social media shows a campus security officer detaining a student as another student wrestles with a school official.

Two students were sent to the nurse’s office for examination and no further injuries were reported, district officials said.

Indian Springs High School was in a precautionary Secure and Hold status from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. while authorities assessed the situation. Normal campus activities resumed thereafter.

The district planned to deploy additional personnel and police officers to the campus on Wednesday.

“We have plans to give students opportunities to dialogue with each other and staff so they can express their viewpoints in a manner that is constructive and conductive to greater understanding,” said Maria Garcia, Communications Officer for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. “We discourage students from engaging in non-peaceful protests because they disrupt teaching and learning and can have negative, unintended consequences.”