Boy Playing Near Clinic Is Pricked by Used Needle

Authorities were alerted Wednesday to a number of used syringes found in the vicinity of an Eastside clinic after an 8-year-old boy was pricked and taken to a neighborhood clinic, authorities said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers said the child crawled through a fence surrounding the clinic on 3521 Whittier Blvd., and was rummaging through a box when he was injured.

The Fire Department is investigating whether hazardous waste laws were violated. Milo Gonzalez, a hazardous materials specialist, said the used syringes, two sharp needles and ampuls that seven youths were playing with may have originated from the clinic or from elsewhere.

There are a lot of unknowns right now,” said Gonzalez. “These kids were apparently playing with these for a couple of days.”

The children, some of whom are siblings, live on the 3500 block of East Percy Street in residences divided from the clinic parking lot by an alley, Gonzalez said.

All seven children were taken by their parents to hospitals or local clinics to be checked, Gonzalez said. The injured child was treated and released.