HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The playground at Greenwood Forest Elementary School in the Klein Independent School District is busy with students and families during school time and afterwards.
But over the past few days, many parents and kids have had their minds not on fun, but on potential danger encountered this week.
On Tuesday, students found a bat on the playground. School administrators took away the animal and had it tested -- and rabies was confirmed Friday. One of the students had touched the bat before it was removed.
"There was a paper from the office that a kindergartener touched a bat," says fourth-grader Cierra Hathaway, who attends Greenwood Forest. "He thought it was dead, but it was alive."
Klein ISD sent a letter home to parents to inform them of the incident. They also urged them to find out if any other kids had touched the bat. The young boy who did is now undergoing a series of rabies vaccination shots.
"Kind of scary," Cierra said. "Because bats carry lots of diseases."
"They're out here all the time," said Cierra's grandfather Ron, referring to his family on the playground. "Right now it's in the afternoon and we're up here with our family just playing around out here. So, it's good to know about this."
A district spokesperson says the young boy who touched the bat had the first series of three shots today.