Emergency responders revived five women after they overdosed on fentanyl at a New Jersey mall Wednesday.
Hackensack police officers, responding to an emergency call, found all five women unresponsive in a parking garage and administered Narcan to each of them, according to CBS News. Four of the five women, who were all employees at the mall, were taken to local Hackensack Hospital, while one woman refused transport.
“It is truly heartbreaking to see the terrible toll taken by these elicit and dangerous substances,” Hackensack mayor John Labrosse said. “My office has been working closely with law enforcement since this tragic incident was first reported, and we will continue to offer any necessary support to the emergency responders and the rest of the community as the situation continues to unfold.”
An investigation to find the origins of the drug is underway, according to Hackensack Police Captain Michael Antista.
“I want to assure the community that we are already in the process of thoroughly investigating this matter to find the source of this dangerous substance, and we will do everything within our power to prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law,” Antista said.
Use of fentanyl and overdoses related to the synthetic opioid have risen sharply in New Jersey in the past decade. In 2012 just 42 of the 1,223 drug overdose deaths in the state were related to fentanyl. In 2019 it was found in the bodies of 2,248 people, 75 percent of the state’s total overdose deaths that year, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.