Parents demand answers after 19 cadets at military-run academy fall ill

Nineteen young cadets fell sick after eating lunch at a military-run youth academy in Laurel, Maryland, last Sunday. The cadets attend the Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy, which is run by the D.C. National Guard. Emergency crews were called to the school three times within 90 minutes. Now parents are demanding answers about what made the cadets ill and why they were not told sooner.

One 16-year-old cadet, who did not want to give his name, described what happened at lunch. He said the first sign of trouble was a fellow cadet slumped over the table before anyone had even started eating. After lunch, when students gathered in the gym, many began vomiting. Several cadets even lost consciousness before ambulances arrived.

The teen said he kept asking staff to let him call his mother as he felt worse and worse. 'I had to keep begging them to let me call my mom,' he said. His mother told local news station WUSA9 that she did not hear from her son until almost six hours after he got sick. She ended up driving him to the hospital herself.

Other parents shared similar concerns. One mother said her son was taken to the hospital without her even knowing about it. 'Parents need answers. We're concerned. What was it? What is it? What do we need to do moving forward? We need to know,' she said. Many parents felt they should have been contacted right away.

The D.C. National Guard said the 19 cadets were taken to local hospitals as a precaution. The following day, 15 more cadets were checked by emergency medical staff, including nine who had already been seen the day before. After those checks, nine cadets said they did not need more treatment, while six were sent to medical facilities for further care.

As part of the investigation, officials placed a quarantine on the food served that day so it can be tested as evidence. A private company has also been hired to test the water, air, and environment on campus. These steps are meant to help investigators figure out what caused the sickness.

At the hospital, doctors told the 16-year-old cadet that he had been exposed to carbon monoxide. However, his mother said his levels 'weren't dangerously high.' The National Guard said that fire officials found no carbon monoxide or other environmental hazards at the school, and that it would be too early to guess what caused the illnesses.

The Maryland and D.C. Departments of Health sent an email on Monday asking anyone who was at the academy that Sunday to fill out a survey to help investigators. The Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy is a program that helps young people who have dropped out of school earn their GED, a high school equivalency diploma. The National Guard said its main concern is the health and safety of its cadets and staff, and the investigation is still ongoing.