COLUMBIA (Aug. 31, 2016) – Two teenage girls were arrested last week after an altercation aboard a school bus bound for Westwood High School.
According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, an argument broke out at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 23 between a brother and a sister on the bus as the bus approached the intersection of Hardscrabble and Sloan roads. A 15-year-old girl on the bus produced a can of pepper spray and discharged it into the face of the male victim. The 15-year-old and her 16-year-old sister then both attacked the female victim, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The male victim was overcome by the pepper spray and had to exit the bus, the Sheriff’s Department said, while several other students were transported to area hospitals for observation.
On Aug. 24, the Sheriff’s Department said, the 16-year-old was charged with third-degree assault and interfering with the operation of a school bus. The 15-year-old was charged with third-degree assault, interfering with the operation of a school bus and carrying a weapon on school property.
Both have since been released into the custody of their parents, pending a date in Family Court, the Sheriff’s Department said.
