Lawyer: Walmart Pepper-Sprayer Was Defending Kids

LOS ANGELES -- An attorney for a woman who pepper-sprayed fellow shoppers at a Los Angeles Walmart on Black Friday says she did it to protect her teenage children.

Attorney Michael Champ said Friday the son and daughter of 32-year-old Elizabeth Macias were "traumatized" when other shoppers attacked them as they tried to buy Xbox game consoles in the rush to snap up bargains on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. The family left empty-handed.

Champ tells the Daily News of Los Angeles that Macias "responded as any mother would" and is considering suing the store for inadequate security.

Detectives previously told the Los Angeles Times that Macias may have acted in self-defense.

County prosecutors said Thursday they would not file felony charges against Macias in the chaotic incident that brought national attention, with some 20 people suffering nose and throat irritation. She could still face misdemeanor charges.