POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A pile of needles discovered by a sixth-grader near a South Florida school is causing major concerns for at least one parent in Pompano Beach.
The student was walking on the sidewalk near his school, Crystal Lake Community Middle, and told his mother about the find. She then alerted the school but said school officials didn’t want to do anything about it until she threatened to go to the media about the situation.
“Orange caps, needles, it was very bad,” said Lynda, a concerned parent.
That parent said she couldn’t believe that her son found hundreds of hypodermic needles on his way home from school, Monday.
“I don’t want anybody’s kids to get hurt. That would be a horrible thing,” Lynda said.
She took pictures of the needles at the scene. “I’d definitely say at least a hundred,” Lynda said. “It was a lot of needles.”
According to the concerned parent, when she notified the school, they claimed it was out of their control after school hours. “They told me that, after 4:15 [p.m.], that unless I was trying to get a hold of my student, that they weren’t responsible for anything,” she said.
Lynda said that it was only after she said she would call 7News with the story that they began the cleanup process.
Broward County Public Schools released a statement that reads in part, “The safety of our students and staff is always our highest priority. We would like to remind our students, parents and members of our school community to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity or hazardous situation to the proper authorities.”
Lynda told 7News that she’s just happy that all the needles were removed. “A kid could run across this, trip and could have fallen, could have gotten curious, and there’s all kinds of diseases,” she said.
The school district also said all the hazardous materials were properly disposed of.
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