MOORHEAD, Minn. — A Moorhead middle school student arrested Thursday allegedly brought 1,500 pills that could contain fentanyl to Horizon Middle School.
During a press conference Friday, the Moorhead Police Department shared further information about the student’s arrest on suspicion of possessing drugs on school property. Police Chief Chris Helmick said a 13-year-old male student was arrested Thursday for first-degree possession of a controlled substance. He is being held at the juvenile detention center.
“I think we can all agree that this type of criminal activity in our schools is unacceptable, and there are many unanswered questions as to how this could happen,” Helmick said.
The student’s identity and specific details of the case will not be released due to privacy laws, the Moorhead Police Department said.
Helmick said the student was arrested after another student told Horizon Middle School staff that the boy had a large quantity of blue pills. School staff worked with the school resource officer to locate and detain the student suspected of possessing the pills.
Through field testing, detectives from the Moorhead police narcotics unit determined the pills could contain fentanyl. Further lab testing will be required to confirm if the pills contain fentanyl, Helmick said.
Pills of this type are valued at around $25 a pill, he said, making the entire bag worth more than $35,000. Pills of the sort are dangerous for adults, and even more so for children, he said.
“You put that in a child, who is much smaller, and you put that same quantity in them, you’re likely to kill them,” Helmick said.
Moorhead Area Public Schools Superintendent Brandon Lunak said the student who notified school staff of the pills did the right thing.
“Because of their courageous actions of finding somebody and telling somebody something, that they knew something wasn’t right, we were able to take care of this situation effectively and promptly,” Lunak said.
In response to Thursday’s arrest, the Moorhead Police Department will begin conducting regular K-9 searches in Horizon Middle School and Moorhead High School, Helmick said. The department has two K-9 search dogs and plans to add a third in 2026.
“The primary goal of these checks is to deter other incidents like this from occurring in the future,” Helmick said. “However, for anyone who thinks they will be able to bring illegal narcotics into the schools, please know this: you will be caught. And to anyone who thinks they can bring guns or other weapons into schools, you will be caught, as well.”
Helmick became choked up as he continued.
“Dr. Lunak and I are both in agreement that we’ve had enough of this, our parents and our students have had enough of this, and it’s going to stop,” Helmick said.
Earlier this year, Moorhead Area Public Schools had two gun-related incidents at the Moorhead High School Career Academy.
Lunak encouraged parents to talk with their children about the drug arrest and earlier gun arrests.
“Talk to your son or daughter about these events, and talk to them about the severity of them, because at the end of the day, they are also a line of defense for us,” Lunak said. “We need our community, and all the way down to our parents, to also talk to our kids on the importance of making good, sound choices.”
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