California high school students protesting against racism were pepper sprayed by a school district’s security officers.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District said that officers took action after a group of students became “unruly.”
Officials say that the protest at the school on Tuesday started peacefully but then saw a group of students try and enter a teacher’s classroom to disrupt a class.
When the students refused to return to their own classes, a campus security officer started to use pepper spray, according to KTLA.
Officials say that two students were sent to the nurse’s office for examination but that no injuries were reported.
The school was placed into a Secure and Hold status for more than an hour before normal campus activities were allowed to resume.
Additional security staff and police officers were stationed on 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 conducive 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.”
