Six West Point cadets, on their spring break, were found unconscious following a drug overdose at a rental home in Wilton Manors, Florida. It is believed that the cadets overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl.
A person has been arrested in connection with the case. The identity of the arrested person has not been revealed by the authorities.
Victim Also Included an Army Football Player
NBC Miami reported that the among the six victims was an Army football player. The victims, all in their 20's, were found unconscious at their rental apartment. Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan of Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said that when the police arrived at the scene around 5 p.m. they saw two bystanders performing CPR on the unconscious men lying on the lawn. The others were found unconscious inside the apartment.
Stating that the two bystanders, performing the CPR, did not consume the substance, Gollan said they too suffered cardiac arrest due to exposure from performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
After the victims were administered with the anti-overdose medication they were rushed to the local hospitals. The authorities revealed that while three victims have been released from the hospital, two remain in critical condition on ventilator. The condition of one remains stable.
Was It a Bad Batch of Drugs?
Suspecting that drugs were from a bad batch, Gollan said that it's normally not isolated just to one buyer. "It normally goes to everyone that purchased that same substance from whoever they got it from. It brings great concern that there could be other ODs over the next couple of days just basing what we're seeing with the fentanyl that was here," he said.
"These are healthy, young adults, college students in the prime of their life, and getting this drug into their system, it's unknown what the recovery will be," Gollan went on to add.
In a statement, the West Point Public Affairs Office said, "The U.S. Military Academy is aware of the situation involving West Point cadets, which occurred Thursday night in Wilton Manors, FL. The incident is currently under investigation and no other details are available at this time."
