Investigation Continues in School Needle Case

2002-04-12
Ivelisse DeJesus, Star-Ledger Staff
The Star-Ledger Newark, NJ - April 12, 2002
MORRIS 033 (c) 2002. The Star-Ledger. All rights reserved.

Three weeks after a Quitman Street School student reported being jabbed with a used hypodermic needle, school officials and police are providing little information about the incident.

According to Greg King, a spokesman for Newark Public Schools, an investigation is continuing, along with a broader one into past instances in which used syringes were found in the school.

Zaneen Thompson, the mother of a 6-year-old kindergarten student, said her daughter was jabbed in the back by a classmate who found a syringe in the boy's bathroom. Thompson said her daughter told her the incident happened March 26.
King said district officials were still waiting for results of tests conducted on the needle to determine if it was contaminated with any infectious diseases.

In the meantime, to avoid future incidents, officials at the pre-K to fourth-grade school have taken precautionary measures, including locking teacher’s lounges and increasing security and surveillance.

At the district's request, police submitted the needles last week for testing, but preliminary tests were unsuccessful. "They didn't test anything because there was no serum or fluid in the needle to test," said Newark police spokesman Robert Koval.
Koval said the department ordered additional tests and should have the results back today.

Koval said police are prepared to launch a separate investigation if requested by the district.

Thompson this week said she was still waiting for blood test results, which she was told could take up to a month to receive.