Two middle-schoolers in Newport News, Va. are being charged in an attempt to poison one of their teachers. Police accused the students, both 13, of lacing a teacher’s beverages with hand sanitizer over a two- to three-month period, WAVY reports.

The alleged poisoning was first reported to school officials in late January, and the youths were then transfered to an alternative school. They were arrested March 6. But parents of other students at the school say they didn’t hear about the poisoning for almost three weeks after that, according to WAVY:

The parents of the students directly involved were contacted in January, Price said. However, parents of other students WAVY.com spoke with say they were just notified by the school about the incident March 26.

“You hear about stuff like that on television,” parent Jessica Temple said. “You don’t hear of 13 year old kids taking it upon themselves to do something like that to another person. I don’t care if you don’t like your teacher but seriously that’s a little scary and what if they did it to student.”

The teacher whose drinks were laced with hand sanitizer suffered some stomach discomfort, police said, but did not need to be hospitalized. She is still teaching at the school.