On Wednesday, in Hopewell, Virginia, seven children, all under 8 years old, overdosed on sleeping pills and were rushed to the hospital after being found unresponsive.
According to WTVR, an investigation is underway as authorities question if the children were left unattended or if they were supervised as it was reported.
Three children were dropped off at the 100 South 16th Street residence, the home of the mother of the other four who overdosed. The second mother was responsible for babysitting all seven kids. Shortly after 5 p.m, Hopewell Police arrived at the home to find four children — ages 1, 2, 3, and 4, in critical condition.
In another part of the apartment, three other children were found awake but were still in need of immediate medical attention.
The woman who lived at the residence was responsible for supervising all of the children left to go to a corner store. She told authorities that she left the children with another adult in the house and expressed she would be back but did not communicate clearly that the children needed to be watched after.
“She claimed there was another adult in the house who was supposed to be watching them,” Lt. Cheyenne Casale said to WTVR.
Investigators believe that a 7-year-old child gave the children his sleeping pills.
“They were left unsupervised for a short period of time, and one of the kids that has prescription medication got into it and shared with the other children,” Casale said.
According to Yahoo, All seven children were rushed to John Randolph Hospital first, then two of the youngest children with severe conditions were transported to Richmond hospital.
“I don’t know the details of their treatment, but some are being transported to other hospitals for further treatment,” Casale said.
Hopeful that all the children will return home, Casale shares news she received from the doctors.
“We talked with the doctors, and they said all the children should make a full recovery,” Casale said.
Hopewell Police will conduct a lengthy investigation around the bottle of pills and have involved Child Protective Services are involved at this time.
“Find out who are we going to hold accountable and get these kids in a safe environment, that’s our number one goal,” Casale said.
PEOPLE reported the Virginia home was in poor condition for children to be in.
