A Montgomery County, Maryland, high school student is in the hospital, after suffering a suspected overdose inside a Gaithersburg McDonald’s.
Montgomery County police got a call about a reported overdose just before noon Tuesday. The restaurant is across the street from Quince Orchard High School, which the student attended.
The student, according to police, was given NARCAN, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The student then left the McDonald’s. It was a responding police officer who caught up with the student and got them transported to a nearby hospital, where they are in stable condition.
In a letter, Principal Elizabeth Thomas told the school community that it was friends of the student who called 911 during what she said was a “medical emergency” that happened off campus during lunchtime.
“I want to express my appreciation for the quick action of our students to report and provide support to their friends,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas said school security personnel, administrators and counselors also responded to the restaurant. The student’s parents are with them at the hospital.
The school will have counselors available to students needing someone to talk to.
This possible overdose case comes a month after Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery County police came together to sound the alarm regarding opioid abuse and overdoses involving youth.
MCPD said 48 of the overdoses seen last year involved youth, and 11 of those proved fatal.
