2 teens criminally charged for ‘fart spray’ prank at Texas H.S.

Two students, ages 17 and 18, have each been criminally charged after reportedly pulling a “fart spray” prank at their southeast Texas high school earlier this month.

The prank resulted in a foul smell so strong that it forced evacuations, multiple days of canceled classes and even hospitalizations, reports NBC News.

According to court records, authorities say 18-year-old Diego Flores and another boy, whose identity has not been revealed due to him being a minor, “intentionally or knowingly” utilized “a chemical dispensing device.” The teenage boys were charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, classified as a third-degree felony.

Multiple fire departments first responded to calls at Caney Creek High School on May 3, when staff noticed “a gas smell near the cafeteria.” Students were evacuated and sent home early to allow for extensive testing to be done on the building’s mechanical, ventilation and sewer systems.

Eventually, authorities decided the air quality was safe and allowed students to return the following day as regularly scheduled.

In a statement from Principal Jeff Stichler, there was no odor when students first arrived for school on May 4. However, the stench returned around 11:30 a.m., prompting a second evacuation and early dismissal as some students succumbed to headaches and nausea, and had to be taken to the hospital.

The school was shut down once again on May 5 to allow investigators further time to search for the source of the smell.

Police and the campus administration ultimately determined the source to be “Hensgaukt Fart Spray,” an item marketed online as a “hilarious and funny gag gift” that smells like “14th-century sewage.”

Flores and his 17-year-old accomplice were booked in a Montgomery County Jail on May 12, but released the same day on $3,000 bond.

Attorney Wendy Baker, who represents Flores, said her client was “over charged,” writing in an email that she’s prepared to “[defend] this case in a jury trial.”

However, the district attorney’s office affirms the “incident goes beyond the scope of a benign school prank,” while adding that “the youth of the individuals involved [and] the potential for impulsive decisions [will be] a factor we consider during our pursuit of justice.”