8 students taken to hospitals after eating 'infused' brownies, gummies at Chicago high schools

CHICAGO - Eight students from two South Side high schools were taken to hospitals Wednesday after they ate “infused” brownies and gummies.

The incidents happened about an hour apart at Fenger Academy High School in Roseland and Epic Academy in South Shore.

Paramedics were first called about 11:10 a.m. for students who ate brownies “that made them feel ill” at Epic Academy, 8255 S. Houston Ave., according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt.

A girl was exhibiting “strange behavior” and an investigation revealed that she had eaten baked goods she had bought along with two other kids, Chicago police said. All three were taken to South Shore hospital. Their conditions were unknown.

Officers weren’t able to recover any of the baked goods and couldn’t confirm whether they were infused with intoxicating substances, police said.

About 12:15 p.m., authorities were called for sick students at a lunchroom at Fenger Academy, 11220 S. Wallace St., Merritt said.

Three girls and two boys, all 16 years old, were taken to Roseland Community Hospital after eating gummies, Merritt said.

“We received reports that a small number of students ingested an unknown substance in the form of what appeared to be candy,” Fenger school officials said in a letter sent to families. “As a precaution, we transported them to the hospital to receive medical care.”

Police said the students had eaten “candy infused with an unknown substance,” and that their conditions had stabilized.

Epic Academy did not immediately reply to requests for comment.