10 Crossroads Accelerated Academy students sent to hospital after what the school district says was opioid-laced juice
Multiple students at Crossroads Accelerated Academy reported feeling sick Wednesday after ingesting an unknown substance, according to the School District of Philadelphia.
Nearly a dozen students at Crossroads Accelerated Academy, a West Philly alternative education placement for seventh and eighth graders, reported feeling sick Wednesday after ingesting an unknown substance, according to the School District of Philadelphia.
A cohort of students allegedly brought the substance and 11 ingested it, resulting in some of them being transported to a hospital for observation, said a district spokesperson, adding a preliminary investigation found grape juice had been laced with an opioid substance. The Philadelphia Police Department has not confirmed what students ingested.
According to a preliminary count by police, five students were taken to the hospital by EMTs and another five were taken to the hospital by parents.
Police, which placed the school on lockdown at approximately 12:15 p.m., said the students are in stable condition.
“We take situations like this very seriously as they have the potential to compromise the safe and appropriate learning environment we strive to provide to our students every day,” read a statement from the district encouraging parents to talk to their children about the “dangers of drug use and consuming an unknown substance.”
The district is working with Philadelphia police in what is an active investigation.