Airborne Fentanyl Released Through Vents In Ohio Juvenile Detention Center, 7 Hospitalized
Fact check changes: "Airborne fentanyl" not "fentanyl gas."
Airborne fentanyl was released through the vents of a juvenile detention center in Stryker, Ohio, on Sunday night leaving left seven people hospitalized.
Three corrections officers and four juveniles detained at the Northwest Ohio Juvenile Detention Training and Rehabilitation Center fell ill following the release of the fentanyl but are expected to survive, Jeff Lehman, chief deputy for the Williams County Sheriff’s Department told local media in Toledo.
The other juvenile detainees were moved to the adult corrections center next door but are being kept separate, Lehman said.
Multiple fire departments, ambulances and emergency personnel from Stryker and neighboring cities were sent to the scene.
Investigators are seeking answers as to how the fentanyl was released, along with more details. It is not clear who or how the drug was released.
Fentanyl is a potent opioid and is meant to be used under the supervised care of a physician. It can be deadly even in small amounts and is the cause of thousands of overdoses every year when used recreationally.
It is possible that the fentanyl was used as a weapon and similar to a tactic used by Russian authorities in 2002 to incapacitate Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater. This event led to the death of at least 170 people.
“Fentanyl depresses central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory function. Exposure to fentanyl may be fatal. Fentanyl is estimated to be 80 times as potent as morphine and hundreds of times more potent than heroin. It is a drug of abuse,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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