5-year-old girl pricked by needle found at Jackson Park in Peterborough

Photographer Jenn Schofield is usually behind the camera, but for this story, she felt she needed to be in front to share her upsetting experience.

On Tuesday around 6:30 p.m., she was at Jackson’s Park in Peterborough snapping photos of her friend and her five-year-old daughter doing yoga.

Not long after, the five-year-old started crying.

“My friend’s daughter pricked her finger and she was upset but we just thought it was a stick,” said Schofield.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "My friend's daughter pricked her finger and she was upset but we just thought it was a stick," said Schofield.

But it wasn’t.

“I just happened to look down and saw a used needle, so stopped and I was like ‘Whoa, is that what I think it is?’ and then the five-year old-girl said, ‘Don’t touch that, it will prick you,” she added.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "I just happened to look down and saw a used needle, so stopped and I was like 'Whoa, is that what I think it is?' and then the five-year old-girl said, 'Don't touch that, it will prick you," she added.

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The needle was found along the pathway at Jackson Park off of Monaghan Road and Parkhill Road.

WATCH: Winnipeggers looking to the city after used needles found in dog park 

The girl’s mother took her daughter to the emergency right away for testing.

While she wished to remain anonymous, she wanted to get the message out there.

“It’s just the fact that like kids and adults and dogs and you know, they’re all in this park all the time that there is a needle on the ground, whether it’s clean or dirty, it’s the fact that a kid hurt herself with a needle because someone didn’t dispose of it properly,” said the mother of the five-year-old.

Schofield says Jackson Park is usually her go-to spot for photo shoots — something she has to now reconsider.

“This serves as a warning to be careful about going out to parks to play but it is also more of an awareness and an eye-opening to say there is an issue,” said Schofield.

While the five-year-old old appears to be OK, her mother hopes this never happens again.

“It’s angering. It doesn’t matter if the needle was clean, if it has never been touched before, it doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that there is a needle in a park — it’s infuriating,” said the mother.

Schofield says she hopes to be back snapping photos in Jackson Park but says she will be taking a good look around first.