Mother-son argument leads to four children sprayed by mace in Evansville

HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Officials with the Evansville Police Department say a woman was arrested after allegedly spraying mace at a group of children and another man on Wednesday.

Officers were dispatched to East Riverside Drive at 3:02 p.m. after a call was made about a woman spraying mace, and the caller identified the woman as her neighbor, Michelle Simpson.

According to an affidavit, Simpson accused her son of stealing her bank card. An argument ensued, and Simpson followed her son outside onto the steps of her apartment. When her son denied stealing the bank card, Simpson attempted to spray her son with a can of mace.

The affidavit also says due to a breeze, the mace did not hit her son. The mace instead sprayed under the steps of the apartment and onto the faces of four children. Police say the wind, as well as the spaces between the apartment steps, caused the children to get sprayed by mace.

Police say when they interviewed two juveniles who got sprayed. Officers say they had red irritated eyes, and mucus coming from their nostrils and mouths.

Michelle Simpson was charged with three counts of domestic battery and one count of criminal recklessness. She is currently being held at the Vanderburgh County Jail.

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