MEDPL201: Timed Writing Exercise #4 (Oregon Tear Gas)
Ambulances rushed at least 48 children and two teachers to more than a dozen hospitals yesterday morning after a canister of tear gas was set off inside a Portland, Oregon middle school, according to the city’s fire bureau.
First responders arrived at Gregory Heights Middle School to the sight of students and teachers vomiting and experiencing burning sensations in their lungs, nose, throat and eyes.
“I started coughing. It just stung my throat,” said Jessie Doty, a seventh grader who attends the school. “My eyes watered and turned red.”
Jeff MacMillan, a fellow seventh grader, also showed symptoms. Although he got a headache, he said other classmates were worse off, including one girl who fainted and had to be carried away from the building.
The symptoms were suspected to be the result of an odorless substance that was released in the science and math corridor in the northwest corner of the school’s first floor.
Richard Harder was one of the first paramedics with the Portland Fire Bureau to arrive on scene. He said he saw about 15 people on the ground. Some had severe respiratory problems, while others were coughing, vomiting and sneezing.
“I got the stuff into my lungs, and I could barely breathe,” said Autumn Gierlich, an eighth grader with asthma who received oxygen while waiting for an ambulance. “I had to gasp for air. I was dizzy.”
Don Mayer, who is the spokesman for the Portland Fire Bureau, said that the trips to the hospital were precautionary, as he did not know if anyone was in serious or critical condition. He mentioned, however, that “the symptoms the kids are exhibiting are consistent with Mace,” a type of tear gas.
Mayer added that a Mace-like container was given to investigators by a parent who said it was sold to her son on school grounds. School officials also gave investigators the names of three possible students connected to the incident.
Students were evacuated and taken to the area in front of the school. Some were able to walk to the ambulances themselves, while others were carried by a stretcher. Those who were not affected by the fumes were sent home by bus.
“The kids are really upset,” said Carol Palumbo, an eighth-grade teacher who was consoling crying students in front of the school. “It’s just horrendous, whatever it was.”
Michael Grice is the spokesman for the Portland Public Schools. Although the school was closed for the day, he said that classes will resume tomorrow.
Gregory Heights Middle School serves more than 900 staff members and students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
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