In a concerning incident at Broad Creek Middle School in Carteret County, North Carolina, multiple students were hospitalised after consuming an unidentified candy-like substance.
The event occurred on August 27, 2025, when approximately ten students ingested the substance at school, which was shared by a fellow classmate.
Eight of the affected students were transported to Carteret Health Care for evaluation and treatment. Fortunately, all appeared to be in stable condition following the incident. Authorities from the Carteret County Sheriff's Office are currently investigating the matter and awaiting test results to determine the nature of the substance involved.
School officials responded promptly to the situation, providing care to the students until emergency personnel arrived. Principal Jenny Bell emphasised that the safety and health of students remain the school's highest priority. She expressed appreciation for the quick actions of staff and the support of emergency response teams.
"We deeply appreciate the quick actions of our staff and the tremendous support of the emergency response teams who worked together to care for our students,” she said in a statement.
One student named Charlotte Race told WITN that the incident wasn’t something she'd been expecting for her 'third day' of school.
"I mean, it was kind of scary," she told the outlet.
"I feel like it wouldn’t be something that you would have thought would happen.”
Jennifer Perryman, a spokesperson for the Carteret County Public School, urged parents to remind their children about the 'importance of only consuming food from known and trusted sources', including the school cafeteria or home.
She told the Carteret County News-Times: “While students often like to share, it is not always clear what an item contains, and consuming something unknown can result in serious health risks."
The investigation is ongoing to determine the nature of the substance and whether any legal or disciplinary actions are warranted. The community remains hopeful that the students will make a full recovery and that measures will be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.
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Lara Owen