20 March,2011 07:31 AM IST | | ANI
A fourth-grader in Washington D.C. allegedly brought cocaine to school and shared the drug with classmates
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The student has been charged with drug possession, authorities said.
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Four students at Thomson Elementary School either sniffed or swallowed an unknown amount of the drug and were taken to a hospital after complaining they were ill on Thursday, reports the New York Daily News.
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Police later determined the substance they ingested was cocaine.
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D.C. Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer said the students were fine aside from having sore throats.
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School Principal Albert DuPont sent a letter home to shocked parents saying child protective services and the police are trying to determine how the child got the cocaine.
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Authorities did not disclose whether the student is a boy or a girl.
"This is not a situation that is typical at Thomson, and we take it very seriously," DuPont wrote. "At school we will address drug awareness as a whole-school issue.
