10 Dead From Drug Overdoses In Northeast DC Over Past 3 Days: Police

WASHINGTON, DC — Ten people have died since Saturday from drug overdoses in two Washington, D.C., neighborhoods, officials said Tuesday.

Seven others required emergency medical care after they overdosed on the same "bad batch" of drugs distributed in the Northeast D.C. neighborhoods of Ivy City and Trinidad, according to city officials.

Police believe the fatal overdoses were caused by cocaine that was mixed with fentanyl. Naloxone was used on some of the overdose victims, helping to save their lives, police said.

The people who died ranged in age from their mid-30s to 60, Assistant D.C. Police Chief Morgan Kane said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

The first emergency overdose case with the batch of drugs was reported at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, while the most recent case was reported at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 11, Kane said.

Police officers will be in the community using "advanced investigative and evidence collection techniques to find those responsible for harming and killing our citizens," she said.

In January, the Metropolitan Police Department saw a similar pattern of overdose cases in Southwest D.C. that involved both cocaine and fentanyl. Arrests were made in those cases, and the suspected drug suppliers were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.

Anyone with information about the drug suppliers in the most recent case is asked to call the MPD at 202-727-9090, or text the police at 50411.

Residents also can text "LiveLongDC" to 888-811 to find naloxone near them or have it delivered to their homes.

Barbara Bazron, director of the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, said at the news briefing that the city distributed 58,810 naloxone kits during the 2021 fiscal year.

Fentanyl test strips are another tool that can be used to prevent drug overdoses, Bazron said. Before someone is using drugs, they can take the strip out of its package to test to see if there is fentanyl in the cocaine or other drug they plan to take.

"Why is that important? It's important because ... fentanyl kills," Bazron said. "We want to save lives to the greatest degree possible. And these two tools are ways to do that."

As for finding the suppliers, Kane noted that agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration are embedded in the MPD and are working in D.C. police facilities to help stop the distribution of "this poisonous drug in our community."

"Our focus isn't on the person overdosing. Our focus is on the supplier of the drugs into the community," she said.