An investigation into how the teen obtained the drug is still underway, officials said.
Hartford police recovered approximately 100 bags of fentanyl in the bedroom of a 13-year-old Connecticut boy who died earlier this month after an apparent fentanyl overdose. An investigation into how the teen obtained the drug is still underway, officials said, according to a published news report.
On Jan. 13, a seventh-grade student at the Sports and Medical Sciences Academy was found unconscious after ingesting and overdosing on the powerful synthetic opioid known to be 100 times stronger than morphine, CBS News reported.
The school nurse performed CPR on the boy, whose name was not released, and once emergency personnel arrived he was rushed to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Two days later, the boy died, police said.
Two other seventh graders that were reportedly exposed to the drug and complained of dizziness were monitored at the hospital and released later that day, officials said.
During the search of the school, investigators found 40 small bags of what was later determined to be fentanyl in powder form. Drug-sniffing dogs found the bags in two classrooms and the school’s gymnasium after going through the building, Lt. Aaron Boisvert told Inside Edition Digital in a previous story.
Boisvert said that the packaging of the drugs that were seized from the school was "consistent with what we normally see as heroin or fentanyl street-level sales.”
On Tuesday, Hartford police announced that the fentanyl that caused the overdose was the same fentanyl that was located in the juvenile’s bedroom.
"At this time, we have found no evidence that anyone other than the deceased juvenile brought the fentanyl to school,” police said.
Officials said the fentanyl found in the boy's home was packaged in the same way as the bags located at the school, which included the same identifying stamp, and tested at an even higher purity level, at 60% purity, police said.
During their investigation, police said an individual has been identified as a person of interest, but not a suspect. They said the person has a narcotics history and also has a history at the residence where the boy lived. Police said their investigation is ongoing in trying to determine how the young boy came into possession of the fentanyl.
“We will be taking custody of the fentanyl from the D.E.A. to complete additional testing, which will include fingerprints and DNA testing in an attempt to identify the person from who the deceased juvenile procured these bags,” police said.
Officials said the boy's mother has been fully cooperating with the investigation. “At this time, we have no evidence to support her having any prior knowledge of her son’s possession of the fentanyl,” police said.
Anyone with any information regarding the case is asked to call the HPD Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).
