PHILADELPHIA, June 11 (UPI) -- A Philadelphia woman and her boyfriend were charged with endangering the welfare of a child after her 6-year-old daughter brought 11 packets of heroin to school.
Twenty students at Commodore John Barry Elementary School were taken to the Children's Hospital off Philadelphia after a teacher spotted a student playing with a packet, police said. All except the girl who brought the drugs were examined and released.
"We know that one of the packages clearly looks like it was bitten and we do have one student saying that the young lady who did bring the substance to school did have that packet in her mouth," Police Lt. John Walker said.
The mother refused to talk to reporters Tuesday as she left the school to be interviewed by detectives. A family member said she is a devout Muslim and would not have drugs in her home.
The woman and her boyfriend face several charges.
Other parents gathered outside the school when they saw police cars.
"I was afraid. My son is just 7 years old. He shouldn't be exposed to something like that. It just doesn't make sense to me. It should never have been in the home," Danitra Salley, the parent of a student, told WCAU-TV.
Police said a search turned up no other drugs in the building.
