City and state leaders are reflecting on what needs to come next following the fatal fentanyl overdose of a 13-year-old student at Hartford’s Sports and Medical Sciences Academy last week.
Amid discussion about Narcan training of school staff, Mayor Luke Bronin said there’s a larger conversation to be had about the prevalence of these drugs and how they could wind up possibly brought to school by a child.
“The prevalence and availability of this drug that is a poison and is incredibly deadly demands that we look beyond our first responders,” said Bronin.
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Education about fentanyl is a priority, according to Tim Bombard, of Connecticut Addiction Medicine. He said most fentanyl users in his care at first don’t even realize it is what they are taking.
“They can overdose on one single bag because it's so potent and it was not mixed properly by the drug dealer. It can be a huge amount and they stopped breathing,” said Bombard.
As leaders try to figure out how a deadly drug could end up in several children’s classrooms, he also said it’s important to look at home life and make sure that caretakers outside of the building are standing in between their children and this kind of deadly harm.
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“It's about getting the information out there, you know and getting treatment programs available to people, and also for the parents to know for the signs and symptoms, but unfortunately, this is a multi-generational problem.”
The school has been closed since that day to allow crews to clean the building, which was contaminated by fentanyl, school officials said.
Hartford Police said every division of the department is working to solve what happened on Thursday. They say the investigation remains very active.
