DCist readers who work in the area around the Capitol South Metro station tell us that a “huge cloud” of pepper spray was released there around 8:25 a.m. this morning. That cloud apparently wafted down the street and had some adverse affects on workers getting to their offices.

“Several people in my office are in really bad shape,” one of our tipsters, who works at the Library of Congress, reported. The bulk of the spray appeared to be affecting people who were walking near the entrance to the station at the intersection of C and First Streets SE.

According to a witness on the scene, the U.S. Capitol Police said that Metro Transit Police were the ones who actually released the spray and they were responding — though we haven’t yet been able to confirm who released the spray and why. (Both MTP and the USCP were not immediately available to comment on the incident.) We’ll be sure to update this post once we get official word on why there was so much of the irritant released into the air this morning.

UPDATE (10:20 a.m.): Metro spokesperson Ron Holzer confirms that the Metro Transit Police were indeed the ones who released the pepper spray while trying to make an arrest at Capitol South this morning.