Two people were arrested after a group of seven fourth-graders in Virginia ate gummy bears from a plastic baggie that later tested positive for fentanyl at a school, authorities said Wednesday.
Clifford Dugan and Nicole Sanders were both charged in connection with the incident at Central Elementary School on Tuesday. Staff initially believed the students were having an allergic reaction to something they had ingested at the school, Amherst County Public Schools said, with a sheriff’s office field test later establishing the presence of the powerful synthetic opioid in the bag from which the students had eaten the gummies.
“We have confirmed that the bag was brought from home by a student,” the school district added. Amherst County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Dallas Hill told CNN that the students had consumed “gummy bears” from the baggie, with the baggie “containing a residue” that later tested positive for fentanyl.
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Of the seven kids affected, five were taken to hospital, Hill said, including two taken by ambulance. All of the fourth-graders had symptoms including vomiting, muscle spasms, and headaches. They have all since been discharged.
Dugan faces a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court documents cited by WSET-TV. The outlet said he has three previous drug distribution charges on his record, along with one of drug possession.
Sanders is also reportedly charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She faces an additional charge of intentionally possessing Schedule I or II drugs listed in court records as methamphetamine, WSET-TV reports.
