From the Associated Press: Eight children at a church near Harvard University where a French youth choir was holding a concert suffered seizure-like symptoms and were taken to hospitals, officials said.
The symptoms were not life-threatening, the Cambridge Fire Department said in a news release. About 70 other people in attendance at the concert Tuesday evening at St. Paul’s Parish in Harvard Square were not affected.
Crews first received a call about a child suffering from a seizure. When firefighters arrived, the child was sitting outside of the church but was not actively having a seizure, Fire Chief Thomas Cahill said.
“That quickly escalated into seven other people having seizure-like symptoms,” Cahill told WCVB-TV.
The report gives no explanation for what caused the seizures, and the fire department hazmat teams found nothing in the building that appeared to have triggered the incident.
According to WCVB, some of the children said that they started feeling unwell during their choir performance due to an odor, but when fire crews arrived, they did not smell any odor.
The children were part of a traveling choir from France, and were all between the ages of 11-13.
The Cambridge MA Fire Department announced in a Facebook post:
At approximately 730 pm, July 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 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. Fire companies have now cleared from the scene. Pro EMS and Cambridge Police Department also worked at the incident.
“Additional photos of tonight’s incident at St. Paul Parish are attached. Eight pre-teen & early teen youths were transported for non-life-threatening injury evaluation,” the fire department continued in another post.
At least eight children at a church near Harvard University where a French youth choir was holding a concert suffered seizure-like symptoms and were taken to hospitals, officials said. https://t.co/eH08O56zJE
— ABC News (@ABC) July 23, 2025
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