A group of nearly 20 Southern California middle school students experienced overdose symptoms after they consumed gummy bears that were laced with drugs.
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Sources at the Los Angeles Fire Department revealed to PEOPLE that the incident happened on Thursday, Oct. 17. A total of 17 students at Walter Reed Middle School were treated for an unknown drug after they ate laced gummy bears. Among the symptoms the 12 and 13-year-olds were experiencing included nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and anxiety.
LAFD Captain Erik Scott told the media outlet that first responders arrived at Walter Reed Middle School at 11 a.m. after the school’s nurse called 911 around 10:29 a.m. Scott stated there was no evidence of fentanyl in the gummy bears, but an investigation is underway to “determine exactly what that was, if it was THC [or] CBD.”
“The students had stated that they did ingest something that was in the shape of a gummy bear,” Scott explained.
The LAFD captain further shared that there were 35 firefighters on the scene. Among the first responders were five ambulances and two advanced providers, which are nurse practitioners. They fully evaluated all 17 students impacted by the gummy bears laced with drugs.
Two of the 17 students were transported to a nearby hospital. The other 15 were released on the scene to either the school or their parents. None were experiencing any life-threatening symptoms. However, they suffered from “general fatigue [and] weakness.”
Mother of One of the Students Recalls Seeing Children on Stretchers After They Ate the Gummy Bears
Meanwhile, one of the students’ mothers stated that she drove to the school after noticing helicopters flying over the building. She was worried “because there have been two shooter lockdowns in the last few months.”
However, as she was driving, the mother received an email from another parent stating that some students had ingested a substance. Paramedics were called called to the school. The school was turning into a “crime scene.”
Once she arrived at the school, she saw nine ambulances, news crews, and “a number” of law enforcement officers. “I saw three different children on stretchers, and each one was holding a plastic basin,” she said. “And they were throwing up. I was up close. The kids looked so scared and it was just so sad.”
She pointed out that the paramedics seemed “pretty calm” amid the situation. “So I assumed it wasn’t fentanyl, but we had no idea.”
The mother also noted that there were about 100 parents on the scene to remove their kids from school.
“After I knew my son was safe, I then thought about all the kids looking out the windows, while trying to study and learn, seeing a barrage of emergency vehicles and sick, scared kids and how that is a trauma in and of itself,” the mother said.
The mother, who wanted to keep her identity disclosed, noted that the authorities “closed down a portion of the school and declared it a crime scene.”
“We still don’t have almost any details of what it was or what happened,” she added.