Pepper Spray Forces Evacuation of Store

Six people were taken to hospitals Tuesday when an irritant believed to be pepper spray was released into the air at a Ralphs supermarket in Chatsworth.

Paramedics were called to the store in the 20400 block of Devonshire Street shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday after a few shoppers complained of eye irritation, said city fire spokesman Bob Collis. At least 30 people were evacuated from the market, but only six were taken to local hospitals.

Three people were treated for minor eye and throat irritation and released from Northridge Hospital Medical Center. Three others were treated for the same symptoms at Granada Hills Community Hospital and released.

“It was not a malfunction of the air-conditioning system, which sometimes happens,” said Collis. “This type of thing is not uncommon, it happens fairly often. People might just spray some of it in the air.”

Investigators did not find the container of pepper spray, Collis said, but based on the reaction of customers, officers assumed that the chemical was the irritant.