Officials: Children handled needles at N. Phila. school
Police are investigating an incident of children handling hypodermic needles at an elementary school in North Philadelphia. Officials identified five second graders at George Meade School who on Tuesday were stuck with a needle, either by handling one or by being poked, said Fernando Gallard, spokesman for the School District.
Police are investigating an incident of children handling hypodermic needles at an elementary school in North Philadelphia.
Officials identified five second graders at George Meade School who on Tuesday were stuck with a needle, either by handling one or by being poked, said Fernando Gallard, spokesman for the School District.
A student notified a staff member about 11:15 a.m., Gallard said. Officials learned that two needles were brought to the school by a second grader that morning.
The parents of the children were notified and advised to have their children checked at a hospital.
Police said that one girl who reported that she had been poked in the back was examined at a hospital, but that no marks or wounds were visible. The district also notified the city's Department of Human Services.
Gallard said officials on Wednesday called parents of other students who could have been in contact with the needles.
"We need to be 100 percent sure that we've identified every child that came into contact," Gallard said.
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