Safety pin, metal found in Ohioans’ Halloween candy, police say

HIGHLAND COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - Multiple parents in Lynchburg say they found small pieces of metal in their children’s Halloween candy last week.

Lynchburg Police Chief Richard Warner says they are investigating four different reports involving five pieces of candy.

Warner says small pieces of metal including a safety pin and something resembling a thumb tack were found.

“We never believed or thought it would happen in our small town,” said Travis Shaffer, a father-of-four.

Schaffer says he and his fiancée took their children trick-or-treating Thursday. When they got home, the couple started checking their candy.

“Package didn’t feel right, so she busted it open and pulled the Three Musketeer open, and sure enough, there was a razor blade inside,” Shaffer said.

His initial response?

“Furious. Just... Why? Why? Who in their right mind would hurt a child?” He wondered.

He says the razor blade was found in candy belonging to his 4-year-old.

“He could’ve been seriously injured,” Shaffer said.

Travis’ fiancée drove to the police department to report it. She discovered they weren’t alone.

“I was even more baffled. I was shocked,” Shaffer said. “Not only did it happen once, it happened three or four more times.”

Officers can’t confirm razorblades were found but can confirm a safety pin and metal pieces were found inside candy.

“There’s a lot of bad people in the world... but they’re children, innocent children,” Shaffer said. “On one night a year they get to dress up and get candy for free and enjoy themselves, and now you can’t even do that with your children.”

Police are urging people to check their children’s candy from Thursday’s county-wide trick-o-treating.

“You can’t trust it,” Shaffer said. “You can’t trust it now.”

Travis says they ended up throwing all the candy out from Thursday, but their children still got candy from their grandparents.

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