SALISBURY — An 11-year-old who was visiting relatives in the Grace Ridge subdivision was charged in juvenile court with putting pins inside mini-Snickers bars on Halloween, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

On Halloween night, Deputies responded to a report that a 12-year-old boy received minor injuries after he bit into a candy bar that his father said he got while trick-or-treating in the Grace Ridge subdivision, off Grace Church Road.

Officials said a sewing needle was inside. A second one was found in another Snickers bar the boy received.

On Nov. 1, a second family reported finding a metal object in a mini-Snickers that their child also received while trick-or-treating at Grace Ridge. A parent found the tainted candy in that incident, and the child was not injured.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigations Division collected numerous other candy that was examined by X-ray. No other foreign objects were found.

Investigators interviewed numerous people, and a suspect was identified over the weekend.

Detectives filed felony charges against the 11-year-old child, who was referred to Rowan County Juvenile Court. The child faces charges of distribution of food at Halloween containing foreign objects.

Investigators say the child put the needles inside the candy with the intent that it be distributed to Halloween trick-or-treaters. The needles were inserted into the candy through the wrappers and were difficult to detect.

The child was sent for a mental evaluation before going to court.