Demonstrators at Columbia University say they were attacked during a protest.
The New York Police Department told ABC News there is a report on file for assault after the protesters said they smelled a foul odor and began to feel nauseated, accompanied by headaches, during a protest Friday. The victims refused medical attention at the scene, according to the NYPD.
Students for Justice in Palestine said several students have been hospitalized or have sought medical care following the incident. Victims reported symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, chest and abdominal pain and headaches.
Late Tuesday, sources told ABC News that the NYPD has recovered surveillance video of two men spraying an unknown substance on a light pole before the pro-Palestinian rally at Columbia University.
Detectives are working with Columbia to identify and locate the two males. NYPD is not currently releasing the video, the sources said.
At this point, this investigation does not fall within the parameters of a hate crime investigation, sources told ABC News. It is being investigated as a possible assault. No arrests have been made.
The alleged perpetrators have been identified to the university and have been immediately banned from campus while the law enforcement investigation proceeds, according to Mitchell.