Teens concocted a pineapple and high-five conspiracy. It sent another girl to the ER, cops say
The three girls knew about their classmate’s severe allergy, police said — and it was part of their plan.
“It’s well-known at the school,” Lt. Matt Pearson, an officer in Butler township, Pa., told WBUT. “They don’t even serve pineapple during this specific lunch period because of the severe allergy.”
But that didn’t stop three students at Butler Intermediate High School from exposing a 14-year-old classmate to pineapple during lunch Dec. 14. And according to police, the three girls used a high-five to trigger the reaction, WBUT reports
“The suspect got the pineapple from another student, put the pineapple residue all over her hand, and got the victim to give her a ‘high-five’,” Lt. Pearson told WBUT.
After the assault, the victim was first taken to the school’s nurse, police said, where an epinephrine pen was administered to control the allergic reaction, the Butler Eagle reports. She was then rushed to a local hospital in an ambulance, according to police. The victim was released the same day.
The 14-year-old girl police say intentionally exposed her allergic classmate to pineapple residue has been charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct, WPXI reports. The two other girls — 13 and 14 — who helped plan the assault have been charged with criminal conspiracy, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
Some of the juvenile court charges the three girls face are felonies, according to the Eagle.
Butler Area School District, where the incident took place last month, put out a statement about the alleged assault on Thursday.
“As with all student discipline issues, we are unable to provide a comment on the specific incident,” the statement read, according to WTAE. “However, it is our expectation that our students respect themselves and others. When that does not occur, the district will take appropriate disciplinary action and, if appropriate, contact law enforcement.”
Because the suspects are juveniles, their names have not been identified by police.
This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Teens concocted a pineapple and high-five conspiracy. It sent another girl to the ER, cops say."