New Haven Mass Overdose: 1 Dead, 5 OD'd In Matter Of Hours

NEW HAVEN, CT — Police are warning street drug users about a series of overdoses that occurred within a short timespan in the city Thursday. Emergency crews have responded to five overdoses since 2:52 p.m.

One victim has died and two others went into cardiac arrest, said Officer David Hartman, police spokesman. Police suspect illegal drugs are behind the overdoses.

"This is a dangerous situation that is under investigation," Hartman said.

At least four people overdosed on a bad batch of the drug K2, according to the New Haven Independent. It's currently unclear what caused the batch to cause such serious overdoses.

New Haven and the surrounding area had a mass overdose crisis in June 2016. A total of 17 people overdosed with three dead.

Overdose deaths in Connecticut are on the rise. Final numbers for 2017 fatal overdoses aren't fully complete, but the state was on track to see more than 1,000. Powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl is responsible for a growing number of overdoses in Connecticut and across the country.

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