MERIDIAN — A follow up to a scary discovery on Halloween night. Rat poison was given to a 7-year-old while trick or treating.
Meridian police say it was discovered when a grandparent went through his candy.
Hundreds of people have commented about the situation on social media.
Police continue to investigate in the Crossroads subdivision, which is near Eagle Road and Fairview Avenue. That's where the rat poison was handed out.
Parents are in disbelief.
"I was really surprised," said Jason Brown, a father of four.
He can't believe a child in his neighborhood was given rat poison on Halloween.
"It's just such a nice community and such a nice area," he said.
The Meridian Police Department has been looking into the case since Halloween night. That's when Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea says a grandparent called, alerting them of the trick-or-treat threat.
"And no one else has reported this?” asked KTVB.
“No one else has reported it and that subdivision gets a lot of kids," Basterrechea said.
He says this appears to be an isolated incident. And thankfully the 7-year-old didn't mistake the rat poison as candy.
But the shock, isn't any less for parents, like Brown.
"You expect it in larger metro neighborhoods, you don't expect that in Boise, Meridian, it's just so small, you wouldn't expect that," he said.
It won't change his family's plans for next year though. He says they'll still trick or treat here.
And Basterrechea says that's a good outlook. Continue with your plans, just continue to be cautious as well.
"You should always go through your kid’s candy regardless of if it's in your neighborhood or another neighborhood just to make sure somebody doesn't put something in there that could harm your child," Basterrechea said.
Always good advice to look through your child's candy. But as we saw out in the Crossroads subdivision, there were some candy wrappers on the sidewalks. Kids will eat some candy before coming home, so make sure they know what to be on the lookout for. That includes making sure all candy is in professional packaging.