Police: Investigation Underway After 1-Year-Old Overdoses In St. Louis Park
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities are investigating an overdose involving a 1-year-old child. It happened last week in St. Louis Park.
A search warrant application filed in Hennepin County shows police were called to a residence on October 3rd on a report of a 1-year-old boy that had overdosed. As of Wednesday, the child was still being treated in the hospital.
According to court documents, St. Louis Park officers found the child unresponsive and smelled the odor of burnt marijuana at the residence. The parents told police the 1-year-old had chewed up a pill in his mouth.
The search warrant application says the mother told police the baby's father had taken Tylenol earlier and "must have forgotten to put the pill bottle away."
The child's test results showed fentanyl in his system.
"Typically what we see is a lot of child protective cases where the kids are neglected or abused because of drug addiction, but this is the first case I've heard of a 1-year-old getting a hold of a narcotic," Senator Chris Eaton said.
Sen. Eaton lost her daughter to an overdose. She said even for people that are taking opioids legally, stories like this are a reminder that not disposing of those drugs properly can create tragic consequences.
"The number one thing the public can do is get rid of those medications if you're not going to take them. If you've completed your pain therapy, get rid of them," Sen. Eaton said.
A search warrant executed at the residence revealed 91 oxycodone pills in a man's shoe in the same room where the child was found unresponsive. The search warrant application asks for records from the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy to try to figure out how the father got the medication.