AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two people believed to be persons of interest have been detained following an outbreak of overdoses that left multiple people dead in Austin, Texas, according to Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS).
As of Wednesday, ATCEMS responded to about 70 suspected overdoses, but there could be more as the week continues.
When ATCEMS was asked if all eight deaths involved in this outbreak were opioid-related, they told NewsNation affiliate KXAN, “I do know those eight were suspected of being opiate-related.”
ATCEMS said they responded to 37 overdoses on Monday, 27 on Tuesday and seven on Wednesday.
“It is apparent there is a deadly batch of illicit narcotics in our community,” APD Asst. Chief Eric Fitzgerald said in a Tuesday press conference.
Following the influx of calls, EMS, the homeless strategy office, urban alchemy and nonprofits, like Texas Harm Reduction Alliance hit the ground to distribute Narcan.
ATCEMS said they distributed more than 400 doses to fight back against all the overdoses.
“Unquestionably it is helping,” said ATCEMS spokesperson Captain Christa Stedman. “We have seen in just a number of days the numbers dramatically decline. That is a great thing and I think it speaks to the incredible work that our community health paramedic team and our partners have done in essentially flooding the city with Narcan. It is so easy to use you, don’t hardly need any training.”
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance said following the outbreak of overdoses, they, too, had teams out on the streets distributing Narcan.
THRA handed out more than 100 doses of NARCAN on Tuesday.
“We sourced more Narcan from other people in the community and made sure to have enough and then we went out and we made a point to talk to every single person we encountered about the risk of overdose, what’s happening in the supply for people who maybe previously did not want to use Narcan,” said Lily Hughes with Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. “We took extra time to do training and talk them through, and made sure every single person we talked to knew what was going on.”
ATCEMS said the majority of the overdose calls started in downtown Austin, but later spread to other areas of Austin.
“When we see outbreaks like this, the suspicion is, essentially, there’s a new ‘batch’ in town,” City EMS Captain Christa Stedman said during the briefing. “It’s fairly likely that it’s from the same couple of sources because of the similar signatures that we’re seeing in the symptoms.”
APD’s Narcotics Support Unit is actively pursuing leads to locate and arrest others who might be involved in distributing the illicit drugs involved with this incident.
APD has not released any information about the two suspects at this time, but there could be more arrests.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service in English and Spanish for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
You can reach them by calling 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit www.samhsa.gov and use the online treatment locator.