CYPRESS PARK : Boy Admits Concocting Story of Syringe Attack

An 8-year-old Cypress Park boy who told teachers last week that he was injected with an unknown substance by syringe-wielding teen-agers has admitted that he concocted the story, police say.

Los Angeles police detectives said they dropped their investigation Monday after the boy told them that he made up the story up to dissuade school officials from suspending him. He said television reports of a syringe-toting bandit in the San Fernando Valley gave him the idea.

The incident began last week when a third-grade teacher at Loreto Elementary School disciplined the boy, who cried uncontrollably and became ill. He reportedly told the teacher that he had been accosted the night before near his home and injected.

“I think it was more nerves and an upset stomach from being suspended more than anything else,” said Detective Leonard De Leon. “It’s a case of an 8-year-old with a big imagination. In this day and age, nothing surprises me.”