17 middle school students in Studio City medically evaluated for possibly consuming banned substance
STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As many as 17 students at a middle school in Studio City had to be medically evaluated after possibly consuming a banned substance, officials said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Walter Reed Middle School around 11 a.m. Thursday. after
Fire officials reported a total of 17 patients. Two were transported to a hospital, and the rest were released to their parents. All are expected to fully recover.
It's unclear exactly what substance the students may have consumed, but officials say they ingested something that looked like candy, then experienced some type of overdose symptoms.
"There was no evidence of any significant fentanyl type drugs. What were described as gummy bears were ingested. That's still being evaluated and is part of an active investigation, but the signs and symptoms were lethargy, increased heart rate, some anxiety type symptoms, so nothing that was life threatening at that point," said Los Angeles City Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.
Parent Daisy Samayoa was very upset following the incident. She says this is the second time something like this has happened at the school and she wasn't notified. She says she only found out when her son called her and told her about it. She immediately came to the school to pick him up.
A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson released the following statement, in part, to Eyewitness News:
"The safety of our students and staff remains my top priority. Today, we became aware that a group of students may have consumed a banned substance. Emergency personnel were contacted, and students received medical attention. The parents of the affected students have been notified. The Los Angeles School Police Department is currently investigating this incident, and we are actively working with our local health partners.
School officials and police are urging parents to talk to their children about substance abuse and the harmful side effects of controlled substances.
"We trust our kids...but sometimes you never know what may have been given to them by a fellow student and again, they may have the appearance of candy, but we don't know what it is," said Allen Chavez with L.A. School Police. "That's one thing we definitely want to tell parents and guardians, to look at what their kids are bringing home from school."
Meanwhile, authorities also responded to another medical emergency at 52nd Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles on Thursday. Two patients there reportedly experienced some type of overdose.
Their conditions were not known.
LAUSD released the following statement, in part, to Eyewitness News about this incident:
"Today, we became aware of two students who may have consumed a nontoxic substance. Emergency personnel were contacted, and their parents were notified. After an initial check from paramedics, one student's parent declined medical attention."
