Two children taken to Emergency Room after exposure to chemicals in Benton Charter Township Walmart

BENTON CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A Michigan mother is calling for greater accountability from Walmart after her two young children were exposed to a chemical irritant while shopping for pajamas at a Benton Charter Township store, leading to an emergency room visit.

Makayla Miller said the incident happened during a quick grocery trip with her 5 and 6-year-old children.

While looking at pajamas, her son began complaining that his lips were burning.

"At first, we kind of dismissed it," Miller said. "Your lips are chapped, you're okay."

Moments later, Miller said her daughter had the same symptoms.

"We thought they were copying each other," she said. “Within moments after that, they both started hysterically crying, saying that their eyes burned, their nose burned, their arms burned.”

Unable to calm her children, Miller rushed them to the emergency room. There, she said medical staff told her the children had likely been exposed to a chemical irritant that had contaminated clothing they had touched in the store.

"My 5-year-old asked me if she was at fault," she said. "My 6-year-old has been going around telling all his friends, 'I got pepper sprayed.' These aren't things you should have to be dealing with at ages 5 and 6."

According to Benton Charter Township police, the contamination stemmed from an earlier incident inside the store.

"There was an incident on Thursday of last week," Detective Lt. Tyler Tiefenbach said. "Some individuals had come into the store and released some pepper spray."

Tiefenbach said store management was aware of the incident but did not initially file a report with law enforcement. He said Walmart has since cooperated with efforts to address the contamination.

"Once they found out the clothes had been contaminated, it sounds like they did pull them off the shelves," Tiefenbach said.

Miller disputes how thoroughly the merchandise was removed. She said she returned to the store on Monday and found clothing still on display, including pajamas her daughter had handled before the exposure.
"My daughter had picked out a pair of Moana pajamas, and she put it in the wrong area in front of some other pajamas, and they were still there," Miller said. "Every single item should have been removed off the shelves."

A manager at the store told her he had walked through the aisles and touched the clothing himself but had no reaction. Miller said that wasn’t enough.

The children are recovering, though her daughter experienced swollen eyes after hospital staff had to remove chemical residue from her face.

Miller said the experience has been traumatic for her family and wants Walmart to take responsibility.

"I just hope that they do better going forward," she said.

Walmart declined an interview request through local store management. In a statement from corporate the company said: "The safety of our associates and customers is a top priority. We will continue working with police throughout their investigation."