A professor of law at George Mason University was pepper sprayed while in a classroom on Wednesday when a man attempted to perform a citizen arrest on him, according to ARLnow.com and the Arlington County Police.
The incident happened close to 3:00 pm at the Arlington campus of GMU, which is near Virginia Square. The man walked into the classroom and tried to put the professor under citizen’s arrest. The professor attempted to get the man to leave the classroom, which is when he was pepper sprayed. The man was described as a white male in his 20s or 30s.
Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said that the professor did not know who the man was.
The incident was heard by an off-duty police officer, who attempted to diffuse the situation. The suspect was able to get out of the building, but wound up being arrested by police officers from Arlington County upon his exit. He is being questioned by police today and charges are pending.
There were close to one dozen students in the classroom when the incident occurred. Paramedics examined the students and the professor, all of whom suffered residual issues from the pepper spray. No one had to be taken to the hospital from the school of law.
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