AMHERST COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) -- Seven 4th-grade students in Amherst County are recovering after they ate gummies that touched a bag that tested positive for fentanyl residue.
"A student brought a sandwich bag containing gummies to school, and then shared those gummies with six classmates during lunch," said Amherst County Public Schools superintendent, Dr. William Wells.
Not long after, it was clear something was wrong.
"Students who ingested the gummies exhibited symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache, and some muscle spasm," said Dr. Wells.
The Sheriff's office was then called to investigate. Lt. Dallas Hill says they tested the gummies for multiple substances.
"We tested further and found actually what it was," said Lt. Hill.
What it was-- fentanyl residue, found on the plastic bag that the gummies were in.
After that discovery, Dr. Wells says the school was cleaned to prevent any more exposures.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested Nicole Sanders and Clifford Dugan Jr. Sanders is charged with drug possession, Dugan for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and both face charges for delinquency of a minor.
However, parents still have serious questions about what happened here.
"From a public safety standpoint, how much fentanyl does it take for a kid to have on their skin to kill them?" asked one Amherst County parent.
Amherst Public Safety emphasizes the risk of any further exposure from this incident, is nearly zero, and says the fight against fentanyl, goes far beyond this one scary situation.
"We need to wake up as a county and as a community to realize that these things are real these things are happening, it's not a Richmond problem it's not a Washington D.C. problem, it's an Amherst County problem," said Dr. Wells.
Officials say all the children involved in the incident are believed to be okay and are home with their families.
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