Belle Glade student arrested for allegedly releasing pepper spray on crowded cafeteria

BELLE GLADE, Fla. (CBS12) — A school resource officer got a call about a fight in the cafeteria of Crossroads Academy in Belle Glade and, upon arrival, reported finding students rushing from the building, crying and screaming while clutching their faces.

Multiple students accused O'Mariya Blaise as the one who unleashing a can of pepper spray in the lunchroom, according to an arrest report.

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As police escorted Blaise, 18, from the building, multiple units from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived to treat the students -- including Blaise -- who were hit with the spray, police records show. One student had an underlying medical condition and was taken to the emergency room.

Police learned Blaise allegedly dispensed the pepper spray during a fight with another girl.

"I sprayed because she was picking at me," Blaise reportedly told police.

Video surveillance from the cafeteria shows Blaise retrieving something from her pocket and fumble with the object in her hand. The footage depicts Blaise in the crowded cafeteria walking up to another student from behind, placing her hand in front of the other girl's face and attacking her, the arrest report stated.

Administrators separated the two, the spray went off, and students went running, investigators found.

The principal informed Palm Beach Schools police that Blaise snuck in the spray canister passed metal detectors by hiding it behind the metal clamps in her bra.

After she was treated for chemical burns, Blaise was arrested on count of possessing a weapon at school, disrupting a school function, culpable negligence and eight counts of battery.