2 dead, 7 possible Fentanyl overdoses within hours in downtown Austin

The Austin Police Department is investigating a series of Fentanyl overdoses that occurred Friday morning, resulting in two deaths.

Between midnight and 7 a.m. Friday, there were seven overdoses Austin-Travis County EMS responded to, in which 12 patients were transported to a hospital. While police have not confirmed all the exact drugs involved, they believe Fentanyl to be involved based on the side effects of the patients.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate similar but cheaper than heroin and can be taken in a pill, powder, patch, solid, or liquid form; it is lethal even in small amounts.

The seven overdoses occurred in three major multi-patient incidents:

• At 7th and Sabine streets, one was transported to the hospital and another person was declared dead on the scene.
• At 5th and Trinity streets, there were eight total people involved; there were five ambulances needed and one was declared dead on the scene.
• At 8th and Red River streets, two patients were transported to the hospital, one was in cardiac arrest but was resuscitated.

Information on the groups or the deceased has not been released, but police said some could have been homeless. ATCEMS said they believe the instances could have been linked due to the Fentanyl side effects seen, but are not directly connected.

An APD spokesperson said the instances are in line with an ongoing fentanyl crisis. In the past week, APD had administered Narcan, a treatment for overdose emergencies, at least three times and saved those people's lives. Additionally, last weekend, two juveniles overdosed on the drug.

In 2021, up until November, there were 170 overdoses to Fentanyl, up from 132 the year before. There have been 25-30 overdoses since the start of the year.