9 taken to hospital after Dix Hills school pepper spray incident, officials say

Three students and six faculty members at Wilson Technological Center in Dix Hills were hospitalized Thursday after a female student used pepper spray during a melee at the school, Suffolk police and fire officials said.

The incident began about 8 a.m., police said, when two students began fighting at the Westminster Avenue high school and adult education facility.

During the fight, the 18-year-old student from North Amityville used pepper spray on two students, authorities said. Six members of the faculty and another student were also exposed to the noxious spray, police said.

All nine were taken to Huntington Hospital with respiratory symptoms from exposure to pepper spray, officials said. Another member of the faculty declined medical attention.

The student suspected of using the pepper spray was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of noxious matter, a misdemeanor. She was not injured or identified. Police said they are investigating.

The Dix Hills Fire Department, along with ambulance crews from the Melville and Greenlawn fire departments, responded to the school, officials said.

The Western Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.