A police investigation is underway after a student stuck his classmates with a needle at a Philadelphia elementary school Tuesday morning, according to officials.
Officials say the incident occurred at Gen. George G. Meade Elementary School on the 1600 block of North 18th Street and involved kindergarten through second-grade students. A 7-year-old boy poked a 7-year-old girl in the back with a hypodermic needle, according to investigators. Officials also say at least four other students were poked with the needle as well.
"We [were] outside at recess and he just came up to me and poked me," said Ahmad Rouse, one of the students.
Around 11:15 a.m., a student gave the needle to a staff member and a school nurse then examined the children. School officials then notified the parents of the students as well as Philadelphia Police. Officials say they also confiscated a second needle they believe the child had.
The children were referred to medical professionals and received immediate evaluations, officials said. Police say there were no visible marks or wounds on them.
The school notified the parents of all the students at the school. Philadelphia Police and the School District continue to investigate the incident and are trying to determine where the needles came from and whether or not they were contaminated.
"That's what scares me," said Raquel Andrews, the mother of one of the students. "I don't know, HIV, hepatitis, herpes, syphilis. We don't know if the needle is clean, if the needle is dirty, if it's from the street. We don't know."
