Multiple students taken to the hospital after student passes out gummies

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – The Jonesboro Police Department is investigating an incident that resulted in several Jonesboro Public School students being transported to the hospital.

According to the superintendent, Dr. Kim Wilbanks, a first-grade student in the Math and Science Magnet school brought gummies to school and shared them with classmates during the lunch hour.

Wilbanks said when staff discovered the gummies were being shared, the district contacted the parents and poison control who suggested the students be checked out by their doctors.

Jonesboro police said six students were transported to the hospital by their parents and the kids’ conditions are unknown, but Wilbanks described the situation as “not an emergency.”

However, Reporter Imani Williams spoke with one parent, who said she and her child are at home recovering from the incident.

The mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said when she arrived to pick her child up, they complained about feeling sleepy and having a stomach ache.

When they arrived at the hospital, the child had to be observed for six hours before she was released.

The mother said during that time, the child’s blood was taken, and multiple tests were run, hoping her daughter would be okay.

Wilbanks said while the school district does not know how the first-grader received the gummies, they have a rule in place that helped catch the incident.

“We have a policy that children cannot share food, which on the surface does not seem like a necessary policy, but in this case, that is why we caught that,” she said.

The parent of one of the students in the hospital sent this picture of what the gummy packet looked like:

Wilbanks said the packaging of the gummies can be appealing to kids, which causes concern.

“When I spoke with the principal, he said the packaging is very appealing to a young child and closely resembled something that a child might have,” she said.

The parent added there may be more of these gummies with students and young kids, so she is urging parents to take a look at the candy their kids have.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

Region 8 News will continue to follow this story for more details.

Copyright 2022 KAIT. All rights reserved.