Two needles found in Holly Springs Halloween candy

Ada Melendez was stunned when her 9-year-old son, Christopher, told her that he had found a needle in his candy bar.

"He bit it with the side of his teeth and that's when he felt the metal," said Melendez.

Melendez notified police Monday night and said the needle was found in a Snickers Fun Size candy bar. Police then inspected the rest of Christopher's stash of Halloween candy and found a second needle. Like the first, it was embedded in an unopened, seemingly perfectly packaged Snickers Fun Size candy bar.

Melendez said that although her son was not injured, the incident has taken an emotional toll.

"Just not being able to protect my son, my children makes me feel helpless that I can't protect them," said Melendez.

Holly Springs police urged parents to be vigilant in checking each piece of candy that children received. Authorities recommend breaking open individual pieces of candy rather than simply inspecting the wrapper.

Anyone who discovers candy that appears to have been tampered with should call the Holly Springs Police Department at 919-557-9111. Police also advised that parents take advantage of doctor's offices that offer to X-ray candy.

"We would like to know if there are other bars out there, of course, but not at the expense of a child getting injured," said Holly Springs Police Chief John Herring.

Holly Springs police have gone door to door in the Lakeside neighborhood and said that they are continuing to investigate the incident.

A spokesperson for Mars, Inc., which manufactures Snickers, issued the following statement in response to the incident:

"Food safety and product quality are of paramount importance to us. To ensure that products leave our factories in the highest quality condition, all of our products are manufactured using strict quality control procedures which includes rigorous metal detection standards. We are in full cooperation with local authorities and will continue to investigate this matter."