High school students facing criminal charges after 'fart spray' prank sends classmates to hospital, say reports

• Two Texas students face criminal charges after a 'fart spray' prank, according to multiple reports.
• It is alleged the pair were charged with possession of a prohibited weapon — a third-degree felony.

Two Texas students are facing felony charges after a prank involving "fart spray" sent several of their classmates to the hospital and caused school closure, according to multiple reports.

An 18-year-old and 17-year-old were charged with possession of a prohibited weapon — a third-degree felony — after a sickening odor permeated the halls of Caney Creek High School on May 3 and May 4.

Police allege the students "intentionally or knowingly" possessed "a chemical dispensing device," according to court reports, per NBC News.

The school was evacuated twice due to the pungent smell, and six students were taken to the hospital due to headaches and nausea, local news outlet ABC 13 reported. The students were released on the same day.

Jeff Stichler, the school's principal, said multiple fire departments responded to the incident in a statement at the time. The department later confirmed "the safety of the air quality at our campus" when the school was closed on May 5.

Following a police investigation into the incident, authorities believe the odor was caused by Hensgaukt Fart Spray, per NBC.

Authorities did not comment extensively on the investigation, but the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office told ABC 13 there is evidence "this incident goes beyond the scope of a benign school prank."

The teenagers were arrested on May 12 and released on a $3,000 bond the same day. The pair could face up to 10 years in prison.

Their arrest warrants allege the fart spray was "capable of causing adverse psychological and physiological effects on a human being," according to local news outlet MySA.

Officials said they reviewed school footage from May 4, which "showed the students recoiling and covering their noses and mouths with their hands and other items." The 17-year-old student later told police that he sprayed the can throughout the school, MySA reported.

Wendy Baker, an attorney for one of the teenagers, believes her client was "overcharged."

"I am completely offended that this young man has been charged with a third-degree felony, and if the State of Texas doesn't come to their senses soon, then we look forward to defending this case in a jury trial of Montgomery County citizens," Baker told NBC News in an email.