A 13-year-old girl was arrested Wednesday after she tried to poison her teacher with chalk, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives said teen ground chalk into powder, put it in coffee mug

Another student stopped teacher from drinking from mug

Student charged with poisoning food/water to kill/injure a person

Investigators said the incident occurred at Achieve Center of Pasco. The teen took a piece of sidewalk chalk she was using as part of an assignment, refined it into powder and put it into her teacher’s coffee mug.



"There are a number of things that are troubling," said Linda Cobbe, Pasco County School District Spokeswoman. "A 13 year old who contemplated and planned doing this and putting the chalk in the teacher's coffee mug, very troubling that if she really thought it was going to physically affect the teacher."



Another student saw what was going on and stopped the teacher from drinking the coffee.



"I know that the student that witnessed it and reported it and stopped her from drinking it also said that the girl had said how she hated the teacher," said Cobbe.



Priority Health’s Dr. Randy Shuck told us a teaspoon of chalk could cause an upset stomach. But he said the worst health complications would come from a very large quantity of chalk.



The Sheriff’s Office says since chalk is a foreign substance, the girl is charged with poisoning food or water to kill/injure a person.



District policy for such a charge is to suspend the student from school, then to begin the process to expel the child from the school district.



According to Cobbe, students at Achieve are either transitioning from a juvenile justice facility or have emotional or behavioral disabilities.



Family was contacted and declined to comment.