Chicago elementary students sickened after possibly consuming laced candy

ByKARMA ALLEN ABCNews logo
Thursday, January 18, 2018

More than a dozen Chicago elementary school students were hospitalized on Wednesday after consuming candy that may have been laced with an unknown substance, police said.

The Chicago Police Department said 14 students in the city's Humboldt Park area were transported to local hospitals as a precaution after eating the candy on Wednesday morning.

It did not disclose any information on the student's identities or ages.

The Chicago Public School system confirmed that the children may have ingested an unknown substance in a statement.

"School officials contacted 911 in response to concerns that a group of students may have ingested an unknown substance earlier this morning," a spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools told ABC News. "Emergency services providers responded promptly, and a review of the situation is underway."

The school system did not say which schools were affected, but a student at the James Russell Lowell Elementary School, located on the city's west side, told ABC affiliate WLS that a classmate had handed out gummies and chocolates on Tuesday and Wednesday before students reported feeling sick.

"I felt dizzy and tired," the 13-year-old student to WLS on Wednesday after he was released from the hospital.

The police department said it was unaware of the student's conditions and it was not clear if they had been released yet.

Both the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Police Department said their investigations were ongoing.

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