JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department responded to a call of multiple people at BridgePrep Academy of Duval experiencing an allergic reaction of some kind Monday afternoon. Paramedics and emergency crews checked out 28 people, 1 adult and 27 children in 4th grade. JFRD told News4JAX they did not have to transport anyone.
JFRD said the 28 people were taken to an isolated part of the of school. Then parents of the students were called. They signed refusals to have their children taken to the hospital.
JFRD said bites were located on the arms and stomachs of the students and adult. Before they left the school, the swelling did go down. The school is working to determine the type of bug.
News4JAX spoke to Teresa Myers who has children enrolled in the school. She said it was frightening to learn about what happened because she doesn’t know if this could happen again in the future.
“It don’t make {any} sense y’all don’t even know what type of insects these are,” Myers said. “I got sickly kids. They can’t get bitten.”
Sky4 flew over the school and captured video of emergency response vehicles lined up, before they left the parking lot. The school is located at 6400 Atlantic Boulevard.
The school posted this message on Facebook Monday afternoon.
The school also issued the following statement about the incident:
On April 24, 2023, at approximately 1:00 pm, multiple students reported having bug bites after playing outside. BridgePrep staff examined the bug bites and investigated the situation. Medical services were called to ensure student health and safety. No students were transferred for additional medical attention, and all were released to their families. At BridgePrep Academy, the health and safety of our students are our priority. All outdoor activities at BridgePrep Academy of Duval will be temporarily replaced with indoor activities while we collaborate with the Department of Health and pest control professionals to identify and address the cause of the incident.