A putrid-smelling substance was allegedly sprayed on pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University, prompting police in New York City to launch a possible hate crime investigation.
The event took place on Friday during a campus pro-Palestine march.
Some of the students sought medical attention after reporting symptoms like headaches and vomiting.
According to Columbia University, while police conduct their investigation, the alleged offenders are not allowed to return to campus.
Dennis Mitchell, Provost of Columbia University, denounced the attack and referred to it as “deeply troubling” in an email sent to faculty and students on Monday.
He wrote, “We condemn any acts of violence or threats made against anyone in our community in the strongest possible terms.”
“In any such case, the University is committed to acting quickly with the relevant authorities.”
The demonstration, which the university had not approved, was held on the front steps of Columbia’s Low Library.
The Spectator, the student newspaper at Columbia University, reports that roughly a dozen students started to smell something awful, like sewage, there.
Some people reported experiencing physical symptoms like nausea and burning eyes, and others said their personal items had been damaged.
The NYPD has officially announced that it is looking into at least six reports pertaining to the march.
A 24-year-old woman reported to the NYPD that she smelled a “unknown odour and began to feel nauseated and experienced a burning sensation in her eyes,” according to a statement provided to the BBC. The police claimed to have received five more reports after that.
The NYPD also stated that the investigation is still ongoing and that no arrests have been made.
After the Israel-Gaza war broke out on October 7, there have been months of tension between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students on Columbia University’s campus and others across the nation.
A 19-year-old former Columbia University student was accused of assaulting an Israeli student in October while the student was hanging posters depicting Hamas hostages.
Students who support Palestine on campus have also reported being publicly singled out by a truck that displayed their names and faces and labeled them as antisemites, as well as being the target of online harassment.
To ease tensions on campus, Columbia University suspended two pro-Palestinian organizations in November: Jewish Voices for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine.
The organizations have retaliated, claiming that the suspensions are unfair, and they have carried on with their demonstrations under new names.