3 men killed in likely fentanyl overdose in downtown LA
Three men in their 40s were found dead in a suspected fentanyl overdose in a downtown Los Angeles apartment building in the early morning hours Thursday. A responding LAPD officer was also hospitalized after being exposed to the drug.
The victims were discovered in an apartment at 650 S. Spring St. at around 12 a.m., Los Angeles police said. Officers responded after receiving a call for a welfare check from a concerned family member of one of the victims.
Paramedics were unable to use Narcan to try and revive them because the men were already dead when they arrived on scene. The victims' names were not immediately released.
A powdery drug believed to be fentanyl was found in the apartment, along with drug paraphernalia.
One of the responding LAPD officers may have inhaled the fentanyl and began feeling ill, police said. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK.
"I went and visited with the officer at the hospital, and he's in stable condition, they're running some tests, but he's expected to be released," LAPD Capt. Steven Ruiz told CBSLA.
Los Angeles Fire Department hazmat crews were called in to safely clear the drugs out of the apartment.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid pain reliever that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine. In recent years, there has been a spike in fentanyl overdoses both in Southern California and nationwide.