7 students fall ill after ingesting substance at Paul W. Bell Middle School

All students taken to nearby hospitals

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Seven students fell ill Tuesday after ingesting some kind of substance at Paul W. Bell Middle School in west Miami-Dade County.

A Miami-Dade County Public Schools representative said a student at the school gave the substance to the other students.

MDCPS spokesman John Shuster said all seven students were taken to nearby hospitals. Sky 10 was above the scene about 2:45 p.m. as a boy was placed into a ambulance.

Shuster said all of the students were conscious and alert. He said the school district does not know what the students ingested.

"They say they were taking alcohol with some pills called Xanax," student Lenia Cruz told Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg.

"Who said that?" Milberg asked.

"The paramedics," Cruz said.

Miami Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Robert Betancourt said the students were all stable. Still, some parents picked up their children early after they heard about the incident.

'I don't like it. (It) doesn't make me happy," Alain Mata, whose child attends the school, said. "But that's why I came to pick him up to be safe. I want to feel good (knowing) that he's OK."

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About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."