Kid Finds Syringe Outside Newark Daycare Center

NEWARK, NJ — A child found a syringe outside a Newark daycare center last week, prompting a response from local police and ambulance units, reports say.

A spokesperson with the Newark Department of Public Safety confirmed to Patch that a “kid” discovered the needle outside of a child care facility at 28 Elizabeth Avenue on Aug. 18.

“No substance was found on or in [the syringe],” the spokesperson told Patch.

Quoting parents on the scene at the time and unnamed police sources, multiple news reports have stated that the child who discovered the needle may have poked or stuck two other children with the needle.

The Newark Department of Public Safety didn’t respond to multiple requests from Patch to confirm or deny the news reports about two children being pricked.

Following the incident, police and ambulance units were seen outside of The Centre Inc., a child care facility at 23-35 Elizabeth Avenue, RLS Media reported.

The facility did not return a phone call from Patch seeking comment for this article. Its 2014 and 2016 state inspection reports can be seen online here.

An unnamed witness on the scene reportedly told RLS Media that two children were stuck with a needle and were transported to University Hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson at University Hospital told Patch that without the names of the patients, he couldn’t confirm or deny if any juveniles were admitted to the facility on that date with needle puncture injuries.

A resident who lives nearby told CBS New York that drug users are relatively common in the area.

File Photo: Flickr Commons

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com