Students hospitalized after getting sick eating Valentine’s Day treats at their school
Officials said 28 students at an Atlanta-area middle school had to be hospitalized after getting sick from eating Valentine’s Day treats Thursday, WXIA reported.
The Sandtown Middle School students became “nauseated and disoriented,” after eating the candy, Fulton County School District Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Law enforcement is trying to determine if drugs were involved, or if “there was intent to harm” the students, a school official said, according to WSB.
There is no official word on what caused the students to become so sick.
Samples of the treats the sickened students ate are being examined by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
A student at the middle school said other kids brought and shared the Valentine’s Day, which she described as homemade-looking rice cereal treats and “store-bought ... heart-shaped, pink lollipops,” according to WXIA.
There has been no update on the condition of the students who were taken to area hospitals.
“Our students’ health and safety are our first priority. When students began reporting their symptoms, we partnered with local municipalities to immediately get them medical attention as quickly as possible,” the school district said in a statement reported by WAGA. “For the safety of all, students and staff were instructed not to eat anything given to them by another person and not to eat anything they didn’t bring from their own home.”
