Assistant teacher arrested for allegedly stinking up his school with fart spray
A 32-year-old South Carolina assistant teacher has been arrested on charges he surreptitiously sprayed his school with a substance that smells like poop, sickening students and causing more than $55,000 in damages, authorities said.
Alexander Paul Robertson Lewis allegedly dispensed the substance at West Florence High School in Florence, South Carolina, over a nearly monthlong span, leaving school officials mystified as to the origin of the foul odor, the Florence County Sheriff's office said in a statement.
Lewis allegedly obtained the spray -- designed to imitate fecal odor -- from an online distributor, according to the sheriff's office.
"Investigators allege that Lewis used the spray on multiple occasions and over time resulting in a disruption of the school, children requiring medical attention for respiratory issues and requiring the school to incur an expenditure of over $55,000 for inspection and damage to the school air conditioning system," according to the sheriff's office statement.
A motive for the alleged act remains under investigation, according to the sheriff's office.
"He's not interested in making any comment at this time," a man who said he was Lewis' brother told ABC News on Tuesday when reached by phone.
Lewis was arrested on Friday on charges of disturbing schools and malicious injury to property with a value of over $10,000, the sheriff's office said.
He was booked at the Florence County Jail, where he is being held on $9,090 bond.
It was not immediately clear if Lewis has obtained a lawyer.
"The investigation into this matter is ongoing and additional charges are possible," the sheriff's office said.
Lewis is alleged to have spayed the stinky substance at the school between Aug. 25 and Sept. 19, according to the sheriff's office. During that time span, students complained of experiencing nausea, dizziness and headaches from the gas-like odor, parents and students told ABC affiliate station WPDE in Florence.
"Personally, as a student, every time I go to my second block class, I walk up the stairwell and immediately, teachers are covering their noses and their mouths, coughing because of the smell," a student told WPDE. "I got physically sick the other day because of the smell. I feel like I'm going to pass out because I get so lightheaded and so dizzy."
It's not the first time a poop-smelling spray dispensed at a school has led to criminal charges. In 2023, two students at Carney Creek High School in Conroe, Texas, were arrested on third-degree felony charges for allegedly possessing what authorities deemed a prohibited weapon -- cans labeled "fart spray," reported ABC station KTRK in Houston.
The students allegedly sprayed the substance at their school on two occasions in May 2023 as a prank, prompting the school to be evacuated and causing six students to be taken to the hospital to be treated for headaches and nausea, according to KTRK.
