Two students arrested in drug sales at Terronez Middle School

Two eighth-grade students were arrested Friday on suspicion of selling drugs at Terronez Middle School in southeast Fresno when teachers reported three students were under the influence of an unknown drug, the Fresno Police Department said.

Three female students, also in the eighth grade, were taken to the hospital after teachers noticed they were acting strangely and removed them from class around 1 p.m.

An eighth-grade female suspect was identified as the student who sold the drugs to two other students Wednesday, and she was taken into custody.

The students who identified the suspect admitted they ingested a controlled substance, a prescription pill, that was sold to them by the suspect and another girl, the third student hospitalized in the incident who was also under the influence of the drug.

A male eighth-grade student also admitted to buying drugs from the seller who was hospitalized.

The girls who sold the drugs are being investigated for bringing a controlled substance onto campus and selling it to other students. Investigators still are trying to determine where the two girls got access to controlled prescription pills and if any other students bought drugs from them.

The students who were hospitalized were taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where they are in stable condition and will be released soon.

Fresno police say this appears to be an isolated incident, confined to just the two female drug sellers, and there does not appear to be any danger to other students at the school.

Fresno Unified chief information officer Miguel Arias released a statement Friday in regards to the incident.

“We are thankful for the action of students who recognized the potential danger and reported details to administration,” Arias said. “Their responsiveness allowed the school to take immediate action, contact police and emergency medical services so this incident did not end in tragedy. Today’s incident is a reminder to us all that we should not leave prescription drugs in a place children can access, and use this as an opportunity to talk to students about the dangers of drugs, including prescription medications.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Two students arrested in drug sales at Terronez Middle School."