Mom says 'no choice' but to pepper-spray students

ATLANTA — A mother arrested after pepper-spraying students at an Atlanta high school says she was just trying to defend her children.

Atlanta Public Schools says Shawanda Favors pepper-sprayed a crowd of students at the New Schools at Carver Wednesday morning.

Video of the fight was posted on social media. %

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Favors told her side of the story to Channel 2's Tom Jones.

She said when she arrived at the school to drop her sons off, the same students who fought her boys last week began attacking them again.

When they didn’t stop, she said she pulled out the pepper spray to break up the fight.

“I was just scared for my kids’ life. I didn’t think they were safe anymore,” Favors said.

She said she would not have had to intervene if officers were nearby.

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“(Officers were there), they were just on the other side. It took them too long to get over there,” Favors said.

The school district said that officers responded immediately, which kept others from becoming involved.

Four students were treated and one student was taken to the hospital.

Favors was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. She entered a not guilty plea in court.

Her 17-year-old son says he is glad his mother stepped in when she did.

“'Cause she broke the fight up. If she wasn’t out there, that fight could have been going on for hours,” he said.

Favors said if she had to, she would do the same thing again.

Cox Media Group