Two Students Hospitalized After Apparent Overdoses at Eugene's Winston Churchill High School

Two students were hospitalized following apparent overdoses at Winston Churchill High School in Eugene on Feb. 9, new information published Feb. 24, 2026 shows. The Eugene Police Department said investigators determined the students’ injuries were caused by an unspecified illegal substance.

The Feb. 9 incident prompted an immediate police response to Winston Churchill High School, located in north Eugene, and led to the students being taken to hospital for treatment. Eugene Police Department investigators are handling the probe into how the students obtained the substance and the sequence of events on campus that day.

Eugene Police Department officials have described the cause as an illegal substance but have not identified the specific drug involved in the overdoses. That lack of specificity leaves questions about whether the substance involved is part of a broader pattern in Eugene schools or a one-off event linked to a small number of individuals.

The hospitalizations at Winston Churchill High School put pressure on local institutions responsible for student safety. Eugene School leaders and the Eugene Police Department are the primary agencies named in the public information; the timing of the Feb. 24 disclosure makes transparency about investigative findings and school safety protocols a focus for families and community leaders in Lane County.

Investigators continue to review the circumstances of the Feb. 9 overdoses, and Eugene Police Department activity around Winston Churchill remains the center of the formal inquiry. As the investigation proceeds, the concrete matters for local policymakers include campus security procedures, emergency medical response at public high schools, and the role of law enforcement in preventing access to illegal substances among students.