Seventh grader dies after apparent fentanyl overdose at school in Connecticut

A 13-year-old boy who apparently overdosed on the opioid fentanyl while in school died on Saturday, Connecticut police said. The seventh-grade student from the Sports and Medical Science Academy in Hartford had been hospitalized since Thursday morning.

Two other students at the public school were sickened after apparently being exposed to the drug. Both recovered.

Police said the 13-year-old died shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday. His name has not been released because of his age.

CBS affiliate WFSB-TV reports that drug-sniffing dogs went through the school and additional bags of fentanyl were found in two classrooms and the gym.

Police believe a student brought the drugs to the school. Investigators are still trying to figure out if the two other students ingested fentanyl.

"This is one more lesson that fentanyl is a poison, these drugs are a poison," Mayor Luke Bronin said. "Please, if you are a parent, have that tough conversation with your child tonight. If anyone offers, suggests, that they experiment with, ingest some substance that they think is a drug, they don't know what it is, don't do it, stay a mile away, and for God's sake, please report it so we can try to protect your child, their friends, everything."

WFSB reports that in Connecticut, data shows drug overdose deaths have spiked -- from January to November 2021, more than 1,200 people died.

In November, health officials in Connecticut issued a warning about fentanyl-laced marijuana after a rash of overdoses throughout the state.