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At least 7 Los Angeles teens overdosed from suspected fentanyl pills this month: LAPD
By Andrea Vacchiano
Published September 22, 2022
California police reported that over half a dozen Los Angeles teens have overdosed on suspected fentanyl pills in the past month.
The most recent overdose involved a 15-year-old male student at the STEM Academy of Hollywood. The teen was found unconscious by his mother on Saturday morning but is expected to survive, according to Lt. Letisia Ruiz of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Times that the boy had taken what appeared to be a Percocet pill, but authorities believe it likely contained fentanyl.
Before the most recent incident, six Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD) students overdosed on narcotics, according to LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Three of the overdoses took place on Sept. 13.
FLORIDA POLICE UNIT SEIZES ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL 1.5 MILLION ADULTS
Two students at Helen Bernstein High School in Los Angeles overdosed on pills last week, leaving one dead, authorities said. A suspect was later detained. (Fox 11)
Of the seven recent overdoses, one student named Melanie Ramos died, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles.
The 15-year-old Los Angeles high school student died in the bathroom of Helen Bernstein High School after snorting a pill she believed was Percocet but contained fentanyl, according to authorities. Ramos took the pills with her friend, who survived.
Two teenagers were arrested by LAPD last week in connection to Ramos' death. During the arrest of a 15-year-old student at Apex Academy, police uncovered 10 pills that Chief Moore described as "crude blue M30 pills" containing fentanyl.
Los Angeles police officers have uncovered fentanyl-laced pills while arresting drug dealers for recent overdose deaths. (Fox 11 Los Angeles)
Chief Moore said that the recent overdoses speak to the impurities of narcotics on the street.
"Fentanyl is a very dangerous drug and this dosage can range from being a painkiller to a depressant to death," the police chief explained.
Illicit pills containing fentanyl seized by the Montana Highway Patrol. (Fox News)
The overdoses happened after federal agents uncovered a million counterfeit fentanyl pills in a Los Angeles suburb over the summer. The drugs, which were found in Inglewood, were reportedly worth up to $20 million.
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Fox News Digital reached out to LAPD for a statement but has not received a response.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/least-7-los-angeles-teens-overdosed-suspected-fentanyl-pills-month-lapd