Orangeburg, SC (WLTX) - Orangeburg School District Five officials have fired a private protection company one day after a group of students were pepper-sprayed by one of the business' officers.
The district confirmed Friday afternoon that they'd terminated the services of DTH Protective.
On Thursday, seven students at North Middle High School were sent to the hospital after being pepper sprayed in a classroom.
According to the district, the DTH security officer saw an exchange between an administrator and a student, and approached the student. The district did not say what the nature of the exchange was.
Shortly afterward, the security officer discharged his pepper-spray toward the student. The district says the student then went into the Career Center at the school, and the officer followed, discharging the pepper-spray a second time.
Other students in the Career Center were then exposed to the spray.
EMS came to the school to check on the students, and they were taken to the hospital as a precaution. The school was also placed on lockdown.
The district contacted the families of the students to let them know what happened. All of the student returned to class Friday.
The school was also placed on lockdown until the pepper spray went away.
District officials then met with the company, and made the decision to end their relationship.
"We want to ensure the public and our community knows that our goal is to have safe schools free from disruptions and disciplinary problems," the district said in a statement. "We believe the presence of law enforcement and security individuals should assist with de-escalating situations not cause a disruption. As we work toward our goal to keep all students safe, we plan to include the community in our discussions. "
