The patients got food tainted with oleoresin capsicum, “which is twice as strong as the pepper spray used by police, and their reactions to the poisoned food were filmed.”
One suspect was charged after eight homeless people got tainted food that sent many to the hospital, officials in Southern California said Friday.
The poisonings happened over the span of around a week in mid-May in Huntington Beach in Orange County south of Los Angeles, police said.
The patients were given food tainted with oleoresin capsicum, “which is twice as strong as the pepper spray used by police, and their reactions to the poisoned food were filmed” according to a local county attorney’s office statement, which aimed to include further information next Monday at a news conference.
“The victims suffered a variety of symptoms including seizure-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and intense mouth and stomach pain,” the announcement said. “Several of the victims required hospitalization.”
No deaths have been reported.
An inquiry has begun to assess if further victims or perpetrators are involved, officials said.
