Middle school is evacuated briefly in Hickman Mills district

A Hickman Mills School District student was taken by ambulance to Children’s Mercy Hospital on Thursday after an aerosol can was sprayed in a classroom, causing breathing problems for several students and teachers.

A district official said the incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. A student at Smith-Hale Middle School sprayed the unidentified contents from the can into a confined classroom. Eight people — six students and two adults — complained of difficulty breathing and were treated at hospitals.

The school was evacuated, and the Kansas City Fire Department, including a hazardous materials team, was called to the school, said Ruth Terrell, a district spokeswoman.

Several affected students went home, including the student who sprayed the classroom, Terrell said. She said the student who sprayed the can would be reprimanded.

The hazmat team received a zero reading in the building, and students returned to classrooms about 11:30 a.m.

Officials at Overland Park Regional Medical Center and Research Medical Center said all eight patients from the school were to be released Thursday.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Middle school is evacuated briefly in Hickman Mills district."