Mass Overdose Incident Results in Nine Deaths, Dozens Involved

(ProsperNews.net) – Police have arrested six people in Austin, Texas, following dozens of overdoses and nine fatalities connected to Fentanyl-laced narcotics. Over just three days, emergency personnel responded to almost 80 overdoses in the Austin area, including the nine deaths that remain under investigation.

The Austin Police Department told reporters it had detained 30-year-old Marcellus Barron, 47-year-old Denise Horton, 50-year-old Gary Lewis, 45-year-old Ronnie Mims, and 32-year-old Kanady Rimjo in connection with the overdoses. Johnny Lee Wright, who was reportedly caught on camera making drug deliveries, was separately arrested days later. Officers say the 55-year-old has a lengthy criminal rap sheet involving drug dealing and distribution.

During a press conference, Austin-Travis County Emergency Services spokesperson Christa Stedman said her colleagues distributed 100s of Narcan doses to local charities, including the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA), which took to the streets to warn users of the dangerous drugs circulating.

THRA representative Lily Hughs said her team received training in how to administer Narcan, which overrides and reverses the effects of opioid narcotics.

Police records show that two of the defendants were detained as part of an undercover sting when an officer purchased crack cocaine and later allegedly seized a bag of marijuana from a defendant and found that both drugs had been laced with Fentanyl.

On May 6, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) marked Fentanyl Awareness Day, which it says allows the nation to remember those who have died from exposure to the deadly drug and reflect on how to educate others and prevent further fatalities. The DEA issued a statement saying Fentanyl had transformed the criminal landscape and promised to hold Mexican cartels to account for its production and distribution in the United States.

The federal agency explicitly named the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels and said they were responsible for American deaths. Most of the Fentanyl used in America is manufactured by cartels using chemicals imported from China. It caused more than 100,000 deaths in the US in 2022.