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Justified? Woman Pepper Sprays High School Students Who Jumped Her Son

The community is divided over whether she should face charges.

Shawanda Favors, a mother of a teenager in Atlanta, is facing both cheers and jeers in her community after she reportedly pepper sprayed a group of high school students who jumped her son shortly after she dropped him off at school.

She was arrested and charged with inappropriate conduct, but Favors believes — as do her many supporters — that her actions were justified.

“I was just scared for my kid's life. I didn’t think they were safe anymore,” Favors said. She added that she dropped her son off at school when she saw a group of students approach and attack him. The fight did not look like it was going to break and while school officers were present, they did not take action. 

“[Officers were there], they were just on the other side. It took them too long to get over there,” Favors stated.

While police believe that Favors should be charged after "four students were treated and one student was transported to the hospital," some students believe that Favors acted appropriately and should not be charged at all.

“She was just trying to defend her son. They were really assaulting him; she did what she had to do,” one student said.

As for Favors's 17-year-old son, he is very happy that his mother did what she did. “She broke the fight up. If she wasn’t out there, that fight could have been going on for hours,” he said.

Favors has since entered a not guilty plea and says that she would do the exact same thing if facing the same decision again.

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