14 students tested for HIV, hepatitis after classmate stuck them with needle, officials say

Katie Marzullo Image
ByKatie Marzullo KGO logo
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Officials: Fremont student stuck 14 kids with needle
More than a dozen elementary school students in Fremont had to be tested for HIV and hepatitis after being poked with a needle that a fellow student brought onto campus.

FREMONT, Calif. -- More than a dozen elementary school students in Fremont had to be tested for HIV and hepatitis after being poked with a needle that a fellow student brought onto campus.

"I thought I was going to get very sick and die slowly," said eight-year-old Bryan Bullock.

Bullock says he was walking on campus when another student stopped him.

"He said, 'Do you like stamps,'and I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Stick out your arm and look away,' and I did, and I felt something poke me."

The poke was from a diabetic lancet and the student stuck 14 kids before a school employee saw the item, took it away and took the student to the principal's office.

The principal asked the student if he stuck anyone, and he said no on May 26. It wasn't until the following week that parents started reporting their children had been stuck by the needle.

"That was the most disturbing news I'd ever gotten," said Bullock's grandfather Bud Lofton.

Lofton said he took his grandson to the doctor right away to be tested for HIV and Hepatitis. They're still waiting on the results.

"I'm stressed, you know -- I'm just thinking,'What if something happens to him?' You know? And that's really scary because he's a healthy little boy."

A spokesperson for the Fremont School District said they've been assisting the 14 families with getting the help they need. "Being in constant communications with those families and also with the department of public health, we believe we have the situation contained," said Brian Killgore.

He says the student who stuck the others has been disciplined.

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