An explosion that occurred after a science experiment went awry injured ten students and three adults at Animo Watts College Prepratory Academy on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five of the injured students were taken to the hospital.
The explosion happened around 9:30 a.m., outside of the school. A physics teacher was conducting an experiment firing a marble out of a cannon constructed of wood and PVC pipe. Students were supposed to estimate how fast the marble would exit the cannon. Instead, the cannon exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. While the teacher had kept students at a distance he assumed was safe, the distance was not far enough.
The explosion forced a partial evacuation of the school. The incident is still under investigation. Animo Watts College Prepratory Academy is a charter school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, operated by Green Dot Public Schools.
