CUMMING — A busload of students from Cumming Elementary School was examined on campus by medical personnel after a can of pepper spray went off on the bus during dismissal Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Jennifer Caracciolo, a spokeswoman for the Forsyth County school system, said an estimated 45 students were taken off the bus and treated as a precaution.

About 12 of the children complained of symptoms, she said, while the others were taken home. The 12 were treated at the scene and released to their parents.

According to Caracciolo, it isn’t clear if the pepper spray leak was an accident.

Cumming Elementary administrators and the school resource officer are investigating the incident, a process that could take a couple of days.

Caracciolo did say, however, that the leak was mainly contained to a backpack that belonged to a 10-year-old female student at the school on Tribble Gap Road.

Per school system rules, students are prohibited from carrying pepper spray to campus, she said.

Disciplinary action is handled on a case-by-case basis. Caracciolo noted that officials likely would take into consideration that the incident occurred at an elementary school and also check the student’s prior disciplinary record.

“Any punishment would be relative to grade level,” she said.