Two adults are arrested after seven fourth-graders eat gummies laced with fentanyl at their Virginia Elementary school with five rushed to the hospital

Two adults have been arrested after seven fourth-graders at a Virginia elementary school ate gummies laced with fentanyl.

Nicole Sanders and Clifford Dugan Jr. were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after the shocking incident on Tuesday.

Their arrests came after the children became ill after sharing the candy at lunch, which was brought to Central Elementary School by a child the two were caring for.

“I tried one, it tasted weird,” 10-year-old Hayden Floyd, who was among the group who ate from the contaminated bag, said ABC news. 'We felt nauseous, nauseous, hot. The aftertaste was nasty, it didn't taste like gummies.

“When I was in the ambulance, they could barely put my stuff on because I was shaking so much.”

Five of the children were rushed to hospital on Tuesday after developing nausea, headaches and muscle spasms

Nicole Sanders and Clifford Dugan Jr. have been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor following the shocking incident. Officials said the two are the caregivers of the child who brought the candy to school

“It was scary,” his mother Kristina Wright added, “especially in today's society. You just don't know what's in there, so I was terrified.”

The children experienced nausea, headaches and muscle spasms, with five being rushed to hospital for treatment.

The bag the gummy bears were transported in “later indicated a positive reaction to fentanyl,” Amherst County Public Schools confirmed.

Wright said her jaw dropped when she discovered what was in the bag, as her son had eaten ten of the gummies.

“It reached a whole new level of anxiety,” she said WDBJ7. “It just goes to show that anything can happen anywhere, and our kids really need to be aware of anything they're taking from other kids.”

All five children were subsequently released from hospital. Hayden's mother said he was released after tests showed no traces of fentanyl and normal vital signs.

Officials confirmed that the bag the children were eating from was brought from home by a student.

“The fentanyl didn't just come into school, the fentanyl came from someone's home,” said Dr. William Wells, Superintendent of Amherst County Public Schools.

Hayden Floyd, ten, was one of the children who ate the contaminated gummies. He said the snack 'tasted weird' and it didn't take long before he started feeling nauseous and hot

Amherst County Public Schools tested the bag containing the gummies and found it positive for fentanyl

“Law enforcement tested the gummies and they tested negative for foreign substances.

“However, when they tested the residue in the bag, the field test indicated a positive reaction to fentanyl.

“The fentanyl was in the bag and we had no indication that fentanyl was on any other surfaces in the building.”

He confirmed that the school has deep cleaned the building “just to be safe” and told Amherst principals to reiterate the importance of not sharing food.

A second bag brought in by the child's sibling was also tested but did not return a positive result for fentanyl.

The couple was arrested on Wednesday. Dugan, Jr. faces a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

'This type of behavior is completely unacceptable. It is unacceptable for this county, it is acceptable for our families,” said Lt. Dallas Hill of the Amherst County Sheriff Office.

“We will work hard day and night to bring those who committed this act to justice.”