Three junior high school students in Deltona, Florida are facing criminal charges for sprinkling hot pepper in their teacher’s soda,, sickening her, according to authorities.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office launched its investigation after being notified of the incident Thursday and by Friday evening, three 12-year-old girls were under arrest.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident was caused by a student who was angry about being disciplined.
On Monday, a 52-year-old teacher at Deltona Middle School referred one of her students to the principal’s office for dumping glue into another student’s backpack and for suspicion of stealing a laptop computer. Angry at her teacher and wanting to get back at her, officials said the girl came up with the idea of spiking the teacher’s soda.
On Tuesday, one of the girls took crushed red pepper from her house and brought it to school. When the teacher took a sip from her soda, her throat immediately became hot and scratchy, according to the report. She started to choke and experience shortness of breath, officials added. After taking a second sip, the teacher poured the rest of the soda into a clear plastic cup and noticed the flecks of red pepper. She continued to suffer from a sore, scratchy throat and stomach pains that lasted into the evening.
While school officials were able to identify which child was the culprit, the investigation revealed that two other students also were involved.
Two students are being charged with poisoning food or water and tampering with consumer products. A third student is being charged with tampering with consumer products and being a principal to poisoning food or water.
All charges are felony offenses.
