VELIKY NOVGOROD, December 10 (RIA Novosti) - A schoolboy in the northwest Russian city of Veliky Novgorod released a large volume of pepper spray in the school toilets in an attempt to disrupt class, injuring 63 pupils, local police said.
About 20 pupils were hospitalized after the incident and diagnosed with chemical poisoning, but none are in a serious condition, a police spokesman told RIA Novosti.
The culprit was "A 16-year-old pupil of the ninth grade at the school, who has confessed to having sprayed gas in a toilet to upset class," he said. The gas then spread through the corridors.
The spokesman said a decision on what action to take against the boy will be taken soon. Under Russian law, minors can be held criminally responsible from the age of 14.
On December 12, 2007 three people were affected in a similar pepper spray attack at the same school. The school was temporally closed and the culprit was not caught.
