A Lower Manhattan hotel was thrown into chaos early Tuesday morning when a can of bear spray was discharged inside the building, sending fumes through the upper floors and forcing a full evacuation. Several guests were overcome by the noxious cloud before the hotel was cleared, and police are now searching for the woman they believe set off the panic. According to investigators, the disturbance began as an ordinary disagreement and escalated within seconds into an emergency that emptied the entire property.
Authorities said the trouble started at roughly 7:30 in the morning, when an altercation over luggage broke out between two female guests. During that confrontation, one woman sprayed the other with bear spray, according to police. The guest who was hit, a 28-year-old woman, became the immediate focus of the response, but the effects of the chemical quickly spread far beyond the two people directly involved in the dispute.
The spray drifted into the hotel's ventilation system and made its way through the corridors and guest rooms, leaving people on multiple floors struggling to breathe. Guests described a sharp, pungent odor hanging in the air that grew stronger by the minute. One witness recalled hearing a woman screaming in the hallway, opening her door to check whether someone needed help, and finding a guest in tears who said she had been sprayed in the face.
For many of those caught up in the incident, the first sign of danger was the smell. Guests said the fumes made it almost impossible to breathe and triggered widespread alarm inside the building. One woman said she feared she was going to faint and was treated alongside her boyfriend, who was given oxygen while she was handed water. Others spoke of a tickle in the throat that turned into something far more uncomfortable as the odor intensified.
The hotel was evacuated within minutes. A guest staying on the 18th floor described making her way down the stairwell past people who were pressing masks and towels over their faces to keep out the smell. By around 10:30 in the morning, emergency crews gave the all clear, and guests were finally allowed back into their rooms after the building was ventilated and deemed safe.
Among those forced out were visitors who had traveled to New York for the World Cup. Paul Willis, in town for the football, said he had enjoyed some great soccer and now had an unexpected story to tell, though he and his group were conscious of flights they still needed to catch. Another guest said she had to cover up her two-month-old child and hurry down the stairs, abandoning plans to visit the Statue of Liberty that day.
Police said they already know who they are looking for, because the suspect and the 28-year-old victim were acquainted with one another before the confrontation. The search for the woman who discharged the spray was continuing as guests returned and the hotel resumed normal operations, capping a morning that began with a quarrel over bags and ended with an entire building emptied onto the street.