Eight Children Hospitalized After Experiencing 'Seizures' During Church Choir Performance

A group of eight children were rushed to the hospital after falling ill during a youth choir performance at a church near Harvard University. According to the Cambridge Fire Department, the children began showing seizure-like symptoms while on stage.

The kids were part of Chœur d'Enfants d'Île-de-France, a world-touring youth choir known for performing beautiful symphonic music in churches across the globe. They had just taken the stage on July 22 at St. Paul Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when the incident began.

During the performance, some choir members reportedly became unwell, and witnesses told emergency crews they had noticed a “strange odour” in the church around that time.

Cambridge firefighters arrived quickly at the scene and began treating the children, who were between 11 and 13 years old. Thankfully, none of their conditions were life-threatening. First responders transported all eight to nearby hospitals. Prior to the concert, all the kids had seemed perfectly fine and hadn’t shown any signs of illness.

"We did have one student within a choir group that was sitting on the front steps that wasn't actively seizing." Acting Fire Chief Thomas Cahill told Boston’s WCVB. "That quickly escalated into seven other people that had seizure-like symptoms."

Roughly 70 people had gathered for the performance. While a number of adults and children said they noticed an unusual smell, firefighters on the scene said they couldn’t detect anything dangerous or out of the ordinary.

Eight members of a French travelling choir aged 11 to 13 have felt unwell during a church performance in Cambridge, Massachusetts CBS Boston

Just to be safe, hazmat crews thoroughly inspected the church, but they didn’t find any evidence pointing to a specific cause behind the children’s sudden symptoms.

"This was somewhat unusual." Cahill said. "It was a routine medical call that quickly escalated into transporting eight children to the hospital. Not common."

Following the incident and after the kids were taken to the hospital, officials admitted they were still puzzled and couldn’t confirm what exactly led to the medical emergency.

"At this time we are not sure of what caused the reaction." Cahill told The Boston Globe.

In a detailed update shared on Facebook, the Cambridge Fire Department explained the timeline of the emergency and responded to public concerns in the comments section.

"At approximately 730 pm, 22nd, companies responded to 29 Mt. Auburn St, St. Paul Parish, for a medical emergency. Eight people were treated for non-life-threatening medical emergencies on scene, and all were transported to medical facilities for further evaluation. Approx 70 other people in attendance at a choir concert at St. Paul's were not affected." the department wrote in its post.

The illness was deemed to be 'non life-threatening' CBS Boston

"The Fire Dept hazmat team completed a thorough survey of the St. Paul buildings utilizing several air sampling meters to ensure that no hazardous conditions were present. Results were negative and the buildings were ventilated."

"All occupants & concert attendees left the scene with designated chaperones."

In response to someone asking whether carbon monoxide might have caused the symptoms, a department spokesperson confirmed that wasn’t the case.

"No CO was detected via several fire company air sampling meters." they replied.