EL PASO, Texas, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Parents of students on the dance team at a Texas high school allege members of a rival team prepared a gift of baked goods laced with rat poison and bleach.

Exchanging gifts and pranks is a tradition among Texas high school dance and cheerleading teams before football games. But the parents from Andress High School in El Paso said putting poison and laxatives in brownies and cupcakes and giving them to unwitting rivals is well beyond a prank.


Bea Saenz, whose daughter is on the Andress dance team, told the El Paso Times she wants the students from the school's cross-town rival, Chapin, to face criminal charges.

"We felt like they weren't out just to play a prank," she said. "With all the stuff they put in there, it is like they were trying to kill them."

The baked goods were confiscated before any harm was done.

Chapin officials released a statement saying the incident is being investigated and any students found to be involved will face appropriate discipline. A police spokesman said no reports had been made yet.