BAYTOWN, Texas – An incident between two high school students on a Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District bus was caught on camera and now a criminal investigation is underway.
Baytown police officers are reviewing video tape and interviewing witnesses from the May 14 incident.
Cell phone video that was recorded at the scene shows one student yelling at another student on the bus. Moments later, she pulled out pepper spray and shot it into an open window.
The student inside was sprayed with the chemical. She came off the bus and then a fight broke out.
"She comes up to the bus and sprays me," said Lacambria Tippin, the student who was on the receiving end of the assault.
Tippin's family and community activist Quannel X are outraged something hasn't been done about what happened. They want the student with the pepper spray to face criminal charges.
"This young girl had mace in her pocket on the school bus," said Quannel X. "Why is this child not in jail?"
But Baytown police told Local 2 it's not that simple. The cell phone video showed just one part of what happened.
Goose Creek Consolidated ISD buses are all equipped with cameras. One recorded what happened before the pepper spray came out, and investigators said it showed Tippin was the aggressor.
"This is a criminal matter," said Lt. Eric Freed with Baytown police. "Our job is to find the facts and let the facts drive the case."
Police are not releasing the video that was recorded on the school bus because their investigation is still ongoing. Goose Creek Consolidated ISD said they won't release the video because it shows juveniles and they must protect the students. The cell phone video was circulated by students.
Police said the school bus video shows that Tippin started the incident and it eventually escalated.
"She chest bumps her on the shoulder and pushes her a few inches," said Freed. "It's a class C assault."
But Freed points out it's also assault to pepper spray someone and against the law to have the chemical on school property.
"When you cause an assault with pain you're talking about a class A misdemeanor, which is much more serious."
Both girls could now face charges.
"They both committed crimes," said Freed.