EAST GRANBY, Conn. — East Granby officials and state police are investigating after an elementary student took a folded paper with suspected narcotics home after school, according to police.
An East Granby High School senior expressed his concern.
"It's scary, but what's even scarier is they could've brought them," said Ethan of East Granby.
The incident happened during Thursday's afternoon bus run, Superintendent of Schools Missy Bavaro-Grande said in a letter to parents and staff.
According to Bavaro-Grande, an elementary student had a folded piece of paper that was later found to contain a white powder substance.
The discovery was brought to the attention of school administration officials later in the night.
Bavaro-Grande said local and state police and the emergency management director were all called, and the substance was taken to the police for testing. The test later came back positive for crack cocaine and fentanyl.
"Kids to be educated on what not to touch and what to be on the lookout for, so they can stay safe," said Brittany Buchanan of West Hartford.
All East Granby schools are closed for Friday out of an abundance of caution, Bavaro-Grande said, so police investigators and narcotics dogs will have time to conduct searches of all buses and schools and allow for the necessary cleaning protocols.
Even though the student was not harmed by the substance, it is moments like these that get the attention of John Lally who lost his 29-year-old son, Tim Lally to opioids seven years ago.
"It makes me angry that it takes something like this for people to say 'oh my gosh, maybe it's in our town' when it's here, it's in every single town now!" said John Lally of Ellington.
Lally hoped this incident and his story will spark open conversations between parents and their children.
"If this young person had ingested the powder or snorted it, not by touching it, it's not absorbed through the skin, if it gets into your body through your mouth, through your nose, it could've been potentially enough to kill him," added Lally.
A subsequent test of the substance found that it was negative for narcotics.
There will also be no out-of-district transportation, along with no access inside any school buildings for Friday.
Anyone who knows any information about this incident is asked to call East Granby police at (860) 653-5385.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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