7 Van Nuys students discharged from hospital during check-up

Seven students from Van Nuys Middle School who were taken to hospitals on Thursday after reporting “medical ailments” have been discharged and are believed to be stable, but authorities are yet to determine what sparked the medical emergency.

Firefighters and police responded to the school early Thursday after 10 students, aged between 12 and 14, were reportedly in “mild to moderate distress”. The students were screened for suspected overdoses.

Three of the children were released at the scene, but seven others were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the incident was “NOT related to fentanyl.”

The incident came just two months after 15-year-old Melanie Ramos was found unresponsive in a bathroom at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood. The teen died of a suspected fentanyl overdose after she and another student bought what they believed to be Percocet pills from another 15-year-old student.

LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said Thursday it’s possible the Van Nuys students were ingesting marijuana-infused products, or “edibles,” but the incident is under further investigation.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed the incident is being investigated by the Los Angeles School Police Department, but officers were still investigating what substance the students used.

Van Nuys Middle School remained safe and open for classes on Friday, the spokesman said in a statement.

“To support our student community, in addition to providing essential mental health services, we also provide counselors on our campus,” the statement said.

The Los Angeles School Police Department did not immediately respond to questions about the incident Friday.