CARROLLTON, Texas — The mother of a Carrollton middle schooler is speaking for the first time after her daughter likely overdosed from fentanyl in the classroom.
WFAA is not sharing the mother or daughter's name and not showing their faces because the family fears of retaliation from drug traffickers.
"Speak up! Because they're killing our kids one by one every day," the mother said in Spanish.
The eighth-grader was found unresponsive in the classroom at DeWitt Perry Middle School. In a letter addressed to parents, administrators say a student had overdosed and was revived with the help of fast-acting teachers and Narcan, an opioid reversal drug.
The Carrollton mother tells WFAA the eighth-grader is still in the hospital recovering. She has yet to see her daughter and has only been able to talk with her over the phone.
"She was at the point of dying. It's very difficult. I don't wish this on anyone, anyone," she said.
It was hard for the mother to hear that her daughter had been experimenting with pills since October, she said. She does not know who supplied the pills, likely laced with fentanyl, or when they were taken. Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD since the beginning of the school year has had three teenagers die and seven more students overdose and survive.
"I cannot sleep and my heart is broken in pieces because she was almost going to die," she said.
There is anger, sadness, frustration and especially guilt. The mother wishes she had paid attention to the signs and thought her mood changes were just a phase. She urges parents to listen and speak out and for schools to do more.
"What's happening can't keep happening. We need help, a lot more supervision in the schools and they need to help us," the mother said.
The mother is hopeful she can be released from the hospital in the coming days.