A teacher in China is accused of intentionally poisoning 23 kindergarten students by tainting their breakfasts with sodium nitrate.
Citing the Jiaozuo city police’s microblog, ABC Australia reports that a teacher with the surname Wang has been arrested after allegedly contaminating the students’ hot cereal with the salt compound that can be toxic in large quantities.
The BBC, citing the Bejing News, reports that the children in the kindergarten classroom were fainting and vomiting after eating breakfast last Wednesday, and were eventually taken to a hospital. One parent said they arrived to the hospital to find their child’s stomach being pumped.
While 15 of the 23 students have been released from the hospital, one of the eight children still hospitalized is seriously ill, according to the report.
The BBC report notes that police did not announce the alleged poisoning until early this week, several days after the incident. And while authorities have reportedly said publicly that there is no clear motive for the attack, the BBC reports that Chinese media outlets have cited law enforcement sources who said the teacher may have held a grudge against a colleague. Still, it is not understood why she targeted the small children.
[Feature image: Westfale/Pixabay]
