Several people were sprayed with bear spray inside a Houston McDonald’s on Friday afternoon, leaving them dealing with burning eyes and respiratory distress as police launched an investigation into the attack. The Houston Police Department is now looking into how the confrontation unfolded inside the fast-food restaurant.
According to KHOU, the attack happened Friday afternoon at the McDonald’s, with multiple people caught in the spray. Details on exactly what led up to the confrontation, and whether anyone has been detained, have not been released.
Bear spray is not like the pepper spray many people carry for personal protection. Environmental Protection Agency regulations cap its active capsaicinoid strength at 2.0 percent and require canisters to discharge an expanding fog-like cloud that can reach up to 30 feet, according to SABRE, compared with the narrow stream of about 12 feet that typical pepper spray produces. That wide dispersal pattern makes it especially hazardous in an enclosed restaurant, where the aerosolized irritant can travel through air currents and ventilation systems to affect bystanders well beyond its intended target, Hoodline has previously reported.
A Pattern of Bear Spray Turning Up in Houston-Area Crimes
This is not the first time bear spray has surfaced in a Houston-area crime this year. In August, two teenagers sprayed an armored truck guard with bear spray during an attempted robbery on Bellaire Boulevard before the guard opened fire, wounding both suspects, as reported by KHOU. That same month, Hoodline detailed how Houston teens robbed three Nederland businesses in a single two-hour spree…